Like VitaminWater
by angelforshow
Summary: AU. SasuSaku. 15 flavors. "Ino, I bet no guy can be like VitaminWater."
1. Prologue: Glacéau

**Vitamin**Water Fact Number 1: **Vitamin**Water bottles are good for recycling. GREENPEACE, people.

* * *

_Like__**Vitamin**__Water_  
x. by ANGELforSHOW

Prologue: Glacéau

* * *

-

Yamanaka Ino groaned loudly as she smacked her forehead against the café table. "Why? WHYYYY?" she protested loudly. Everyone in the Leaf Café stared at her in annoyance.

"Quiet down Ino, you're attracting attention," Haruno Sakura told her best friend, subtly slapping the back of the blonde's head to get her to shut up. She batted her eyelashes while smiling sheepishly at the rest of the café customers in apology.

Ino took a dejected sip of cappuccino after taking a bite out of her chocolate banana muffin. "Ugh, I just don't understand," she told Sakura with a frown before yanking off the cap to her drink and stirring in two packets of Sugar In the Raw. "Why are boys so difficult?"

Sakura rolled her leaf colored eyes. "Because they're men," she told Ino earnestly. She slapped Ino's hand when it reached for a third packet of sugar. "Too much sugar will keep you awake, and you'll get bags underneath your eyes Ino-pig," she reminded her.

Ino rolled her eyes back. Like coffee wouldn't? But then again, coffee and caffeine in general were necessities for students like them.

"Easy for you to say. You haven't had a boyfriend since high school," Ino huffed to Sakura a few seconds later. "I don't understand…Shikamaru is just so…_moody _and…and…_the same_."

Sakura glared at her for a second. High school was just last year – they were only college freshman…and this was their first day of class at that!

"Ino, you can't ask for Shikamaru to be too many things at once," Sakura told Ino while she dug through her purse for some chewing gum. "He's just not the kind of guy who's that superior hero that you read about in books who can be anything."

Ino sighed. "I know, but I wish he would be a little more spontaneous or unpredictable. I mean, I can probably tell you exactly where he is right now," she told Sakura miserably.

"Oh really? Where is he then?"

Ino gave Sakura a look. "Sitting on a rooftop with Chouji eating barbeque potato chips," she said without missing a beat.

Sakura blanched when she realized that Ino had a 99.99 percent chance of being correct.

Sighing back, Sakura flipped her bubblegum pink hair over her shoulder. "Okay, so maybe he's not the most vibrant character. But no guy is…" she looked at the drink she held in her hand. " No guy is like VitaminWater, Ino."

Ino did a double-take. "What?" she asked, peering at Sakura's drink strangely.

"VitaminWater – it comes in so many different flavors, all under one name," Sakura explained. "No guy can be that varied…no guy can be like VitaminWater."

Ino cocked her head and examined Sakura's VitaminWater bottle. She was drinking B-relaxed right now, the colorful water flavored with guava and jackfruit. "No boy can be like VtiaminWater huh?" she asked Sakura. "I bet there is."

Sakura shook her head. "Ino – there're _fifteen_ types of VitaminWater. I doubt there's any man out there with so much wonderful packed into one body."

Ino shook her head back. "And I bet there is. I bet you'll find a boyfriend like that too, because you've always been that lucky." Ino dolefully handed Sakura her VitaminWater back.

Sakura laughed. "I don't think so Ino, now c'mon – or else we're gonna be late to our first psych. lecture _ever_."

Ino shrugged while standing up to gather her bag. "I don't know Sakura, I mean look at Sai – he was so VitaminWater-esque."

Sakura pushed in her chair and slid her VitaminWater into her tote bag.

"Ino, he was only that colorful because he was gay."

* * *

Morino Ibiki stood by the door to his lecture hall waiting for his students, handing students a randomly numbered card before they entered. It was his freshman psychology class.

The students sat down, and took out their laptops and notebooks to take notes on for the class.

"Alright. I'm Morino Ibiki," Ibiko told his class. "I'm the Psychology Professor." He glanced at the students scattered in the lower half of his classroom. "Great, now put away your laptops and notebooks."

The students hesitated slightly before obeying, sliding their computers and spiral-bound notebooks back into their places in their bags.

"Before you entered the classroom, I gave each of you a numbered card. There's two of each number floating around somewhere in this room. The other person with the same number as you is going to be your psychology partner for this semester," Ibiko explained, holding up a yellow index card. "Now find your partner."

The students dispersed, instantly wandering around to ask their friends what number they had.

"Ino, what number do you have?" Sakura asked the blonde. "I have 13…"

Ino looked flipped her card over so Sakura could see it. "I have 7, sorry Sakura."

Everyone else found their partner quickly enough. Soon, there were only a few straggling students left, Sakura being one of them.

"13? 13 anyone?" Sakura asked, looking at the other students that were still searching for their partners. Someone tapped her shoulder.

She turned around and almost died.

Standing in front of her was possibly the most beautiful boy she had ever seen. He had soft looking blue-black hair that stuck up at odd angles, messy, but cute, and heart melting black eyes. His skin was pale and his facial features were well defined and masculine, but soft at the same time. He screamed sex god.

Said sex god held up his yellow card. '13' was drawn on in black marker.

"I – I'm Haruno Sakura, it's good to meet you," Sakura told him in a dry voice.

The boy took a sip of the drink he held in his hand before responding. "Uchiha Sasuke," he told her in a deep, velvety voice.

Sakura flashed a brief smile while her eyes were attracted to a flash of yellow-green label and translucent pink liquid. It looked familiar, which was probably because she had the same bottle inside of her bag, B-relaxed flavored.

"I guess we're partners this semester," Sasuke said when Ibiki ordered all the pairs to sit together.

"Yeah, I suppose," Sakura said, as Ino's voice spoke to her in her head. _"No boy can be like VtiaminWater huh? I bet there is."_

She followed Sasuke to a row of seats and sat down next to him.

Strangely, she bet he was just like VitaminWater.

* * *

Fifteen flavors of VitaminWater: 15 chapters, plus a prologue (this) and an epilogue. It'll be fun, with short chapters.

Glacéau**Vitamin**Water is a (delicious) trademark under the ownership of the company Glacéau.  
The** Vitamin**Water facts at the beginning of the chapter are completely and utterly made up by me. Copyright ANGELforSHOW, okay?

Nice people review.


	2. 01: Power C

**Vitamin**Water Fact Number 2: Cold **Vitamin**Water has a duller flavor. Wait for room temperature.

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_Like__**Vitamin**__Water_  
x. by ANGELforSHOW

**Chapter One**: Power-C  
**Purpose**: More strength.

* * *

- 

Ino stuffed a new coffee filter in her coffee machine, pressing the big, red button to commence the coffee-making process.

"Sakura, you're_ sooo_ lucky," Ino berated Sakura happily, she reached into a cupboard to pull out a mug. "You want some coffee?" she asked Sakura as an after thought, her hand hovering over another empty mug.

"No thanks, I'm good," Sakura told Ino, perched on Ino's bed. "And why am I lucky?" she asked the blonde, watching her best friend as she shuffled around her single dorm.

Despite the fact that Ino's dorm was probably the size of a bathroom stall at McDonald's, she had managed to cram all of her belongings inside of it – clothes, lots and lots of clothes, endless cosmetics, a mini-fridge, a microwave, a coffee machine, _and_ an espresso machine inside of it. In addition to the bed, desk, and dresser that was already there.

Okay, so she would give Ino's dorm the size of the handicap bathroom stall.

"You're lucky," Ino told her while smacking her coffee machine in hopes of making it work faster, "Because your psychology partner is the most attractive man on the face of the planet," she told Sakura with a pout. "My partner is Uzumaki Naruto, a nice loudmouth with hair brighter than mine."

Sakura shrugged. "You'll live with it, Pig."

Ino pulled the coffee pot out from underneath the machine and started to pour the delicious smelling liquid into her mug. "Either way, I bet he's perfect…" she sighed to Sakura dreamily, nearly overflowing her cup. "I mean…I'd tap that," she ended crudely, sky blue eyes narrowing wickedly when she thought of Sasuke.

Sakura rolled her eyes with an exasperated sight. "Just drink your coffee, Ino."

* * *

"Sakura, I think you're like, addicted to that stuff," Ino remarked when they stopped at Sakura's dorm the next floor down. Sakura had opened her minifridge to grab herself another drink. 

A rainbow practically exploded out of her tiny refrigerator. Inside, Sakura had stored at least three bottles of all fifteen flavors of VitaminWater. Ino could safely assume that there was no actual food behind the wall of spectrum.

"Oh, I'm definitely not. It's just healthy and delicious Ino," Sakura waved off Ino's "concern" with a shrug. She plucked a bottle of Power-C from her fridge before shutting the door.

Twisting off the cap, she took a sip of the magenta liquid happily. "Mm, DRAGONFRUIT!" she chirped. "Honestly Pig, this stuff is so much better than coffee, you should try it."

Ino cradled the to-go cup she held in her hand protectively. "Don't speak such profanities!" she gasped, stroking the cup's thick cardboard-like exterior.

Sakura sighed, rolling her eyes once again. "Shut up and let's just go to math, okay?"

* * *

The calculus lecture passed relatively quickly (if you called the pace of a drunk sloth quick), and soon, Ino and Sakura were lunching at the cafeteria. 

Sliding her red tray down the metal aisle, Sakura picked up a grilled cheese sandwich and headed towards the salad bar. She had vowed with Ino to avoid the Freshman Fifteen like the plague and opted for a salad instead of fries.

Sitting down with Ino at a small round table, Sakura just started to eat her sandwich when they were interrupted.

"Oiii, INO!"

Ino whipped her head around to see who was calling her name, blonde locks flying. "AY, NARUTO!" she hollered back in an equally loud voice. She wasn't a cheerleader for nothing – her lungs had enough force to deafen an elephant.

Uzumaki Naruto bounded up to the pair, grinning from ear-to-ear. "Mind if we sit?" he asked, gesturing to the two empty seats at their little table.

"We?" Ino asked, craning her neck to look past Naruto. "Ah!" she spotted Sasuke calmly approaching them, tray in hand and a bored expression on his face. "Sure, no problem," she said nonchalantly, trying to look cool in front of Sasuke.

Naruto smiled foxily again. "Great!" Pulling out a chair, he sat down cheerfully and began to eat his french fries with vigor.

Sasuke arrived silently, sitting next to Naruto. "Slow down, dobe," he told Naruto as he watched him wolf down his food.

"Ne, I can't do that Sasuke – I'm on an espresso kick…I'M WIRED!" Naruto fairly screamed, cerulean eyes widening with mirth. "Oh, hey, who's this?" he asked, suddenly noticing Sakura next to Ino. She was calmly eating her salad, while text messaging on her phone.

Sakura looked up, startled. "Me?" she asked. Naruto nodded. "Oh, I'm Haruno Sakura," she smiled slightly, the corners of her lips upturning just the slightest bit.

Naruto grinned (he seemed to do that a lot), and said, "I'm Uzumaki Naruto, good to meet you!" he nudged Sasuke in the ribs with an elbow. "Hey, teme, you know Sakura?"

Sasuke nodded, before popping a cherry tomato into his mouth from his own salad. "Yeah, she's my psych partner," he answered before returning his attention to the cell phone in his hands.

"How do you two know each other?" Naruto asked Sakura and Ino, noticing how comfortable they were around each other. Obviously, they had not met just yesterday.

"Sakura and I have been best friends since fifth grade," Ino explained, beaming. "We've been through everything, basically."

Sakura laughed, "Yeah. EVERYTHING." She reached into her bag, pulling out her VitaminWater and thinking of the entire Sai fiasco. Unscrewing the cap, she sipped the magenta liquid delicately.

"HEY! You're drinking that same shit teme is always drinking," Naruto observed, jerking his blond head towards Sasuke. "What's so great about it anyway? I definitely prefer coffee any day."

"It's delicious," Sasuke and Sakura both replied flatly. Sasuke rolled his eyes and took a sip from his bottle for emphasis. Revive, the fruit punch flavor, flooded his tastebuds in happiness.

After another half hour of Ino and Naruto's idle chatter, Sakura glanced up at her tablemates. Ino and Naruto were bickering about which flavor of coffee was better: Starbuck's House blend or Panera Bread's Hazlenut blend, while Sasuke was text messaging and whatnot on his Blackberry.

"Hey guys, we have a psychology class to be at in two minutes," Sakura interrupted calmly, standing up and gathering her things. Sasuke followed suit, slipping his phone back into his pocket.

Naruto and Ino on the other hand, were still arguing about coffee and not paying attention to what the other half of their table was doing.

Shrugging, Sasuke started to walk away, Sakura close behind them.

"Shouldn't we stop them?" Sakura asked Sasuke, struggling to keep up with his long strides. They had exactly 1.683 minutes to get to class now.

"They'll catch on eventually," Sasuke told her, rounding the corner into the psychology lecture hall.

"Ah," Sakura replied with slight unease as she followed Sasuke to their seats.

Sure enough, three seconds before the class started, Naruto and Ino arrived, panting furiously.

* * *

"Today you'll be conducting an investigation on how the past affects the present mind," Ibiki told his class. "You and your partner will take turns questioning each other about their own personal past. Record these events, and when you're finished, determine how these events have affected and molded your partner into who they are today in an analysis essay," the solemn teacher explained. "Begin." 

Sakura flipped open her notebook and drew a line down the middle, titling the T-chart 'Event' on the left and 'Affect' on the right. Sasuke mimicked her movement as well, when realizing that it was the most practical way of arranging their chat.

"Do you wanna go first, or should I?" Sakura asked, setting her pen down, after she finished making her chart.

"It doesn't matter," Sasuke responded dully. Leaning back in his chair and waiting for Sakura to decide. His eyes lingered on her, expecting her answer.

"Well, I'll start then," Sakura said after a minute, trying not to fidget underneath Sasuke's strong look. "Were there any special things you had as a little kid?"

Sasuke looked away. "I had a stuffed elephant," he said calmly. "I carried him around with me everywhere until I was about seven."

Sakura looked at Sasuke with a small, amused smile. His eyes were still averted, though she couldn't tell whether it was embarrassment or not.

"So, what's your family like?" she asked, asking about the most obvious impacting force in a child's life.

Sasuke's eyes darkened considerably. "…complicated," he decided after a moment.

Sakura cringed but pursued the topic – she could be on the verge of a psychological break-through! "How so?" she asked, frowning as she wrote 'complicated' down on her paper.

"…" Sasuke gritted his teeth for a moment. "My father was a world renown business man, and my mother was the sweetest woman alive."

Sakura's pen hovered above her notebook, telling him to continue.

"When I was ten, my brother was caught selling heroin," Sasuke told her quietly. "When my parents found him injecting a needle into himself, they sent him to a rehabilitation center. News of this broke out and my father's reputation was ruined."

The ballpoint pen quivered, but didn't touch the paper yet.

"My father lost his business and went bankrupt before committing suicide. My mother took me to an orphanage and ran away." Sasuke's eyebrows furrowed. "I was sent to a foster home when I was eleven, and when I reached high school, I was allowed to rent my own apartment."

Sakura dropped her notebook and pen onto the floor halfheartedly. "I-I'm sorry Sasuke," she told him quietly. "I shouldn't have asked."

Sasuke stood up, stuffing his hands into his pockets. "Whatever."

"Hey, Sasuke…?"

"Hn?"

Sakura bit her lower lip. "What happened to your older brother?" she asked softly.

Sasuke turned his back to her. "He's gone," he answered shortly before walking away.

Wringing her sweatshirt in her hands, Sakura filled in the rest of her chart in short notes before starting to write.

* * *

_Haruno Sakura  
September 4__th  
Freshman Psychology_

_**Past Analysis: **__Uchiha Sasuke_

_The subject Uchiha Sasuke has demonstrated many prominent qualities in the short time I've know him, one of which is immense strength. Not necessarily physical strength, but mental strength. The subject has disclosed a difficult past family life, including suicide, depression, and drugs._

Sakura stopped her typing for a moment. Her vision blurring, she bit her lower lip. She looked at her messy notes, and at Sasuke's messenger bag, the simple black bag lying abandoned in the seat next to hers. The words from her paper echoed in her head: suicide, depression, drugs, suicide, depression, drugs.

She didn't know how he had found the strength to move on.

* * *

Read the **Vitamin**Water facts. They're fun, haha. 

Writing this is actually kind of difficult – experimentation with Sasuke's different sides, while trying to keep him kind-of-barely-a-tiny-bit in character.

Review, s'il vous plait.


	3. 02: Defense

**Vitamin**Water Fact Number 3: Shake your **Vitamin**Water for more flavor if you let it sit too long.

* * *

_Like__**Vitamin**__Water_  
x. by ANGELforSHOW

**Chapter Two**: Defense.  
**Purpose**: More immunity.

* * *

- 

"Aughhh!" Sakura beat her head into a pillow as she lay across her bed in hopes of finishing an English paper. It was midnight already, but at least her first lecture wasn't until 10:15 the next morning.

Unfortunately for her, said class _was_ the British Literature lecture in which her latest assignment was due. Ergo, she was up typing up a silly review on Great Expectations instead of partying it up with Ino. While Ino was in her cute little party dress, Sakura was in black sweatpants and a white cami, with an unzipped burgundy Victorian-patterned zip-up over top.

_Great Expectations by Charles Dickens is a timeless classic in which the young orphan Pip grows from a sheltered, poor, common boy in the marshes to a real gentleman in the chic city of London. In this book, Dickens demonstrates many qualities of good literature – character development, detailed descriptions, and – _

Sakura bashed her head into her pillow once more before she started to furiously press the "delete" button on her MacBook. _ANYONE_ could tell that she was obviously lying through her teeth when praising Great Expectations.

She had read the heinous book once for 10th grade Honors English. Who knew that she'd be reading it again for Brit. Lit. 101 in _college_?

Rolling off her bed, she made her way over to her minifridge, fully intending on drinking VitaminWater until dawn. She'd need an Energy, she decided, and a 32-ouncer at that. Reaching towards the large bottle with yellow liquid, she stopped when she heard a knock at her door.

Getting up, she took a quick glance through the peephole, recognizing the familiar mop of blue-black hair, stuck out like a chicken's butt.

"Hey Sasuke," she said tiredly with a small smile. "Fancy seeing you here at midnight. What's up?" she asked, opening the door wider. "Come in or something." She looked at him. As dressed down as he was, he still looked amazing. Sakura cursed inwardly. She wished she could pull off plaid shorts and plain black tee-shirts as well as he could.

Sasuke stepped carefully into her single dorm. "Um, I never got a chance to finish that partner analysis with you."

Sakura laughed. "So you're coming to me at midnight to finish it?" she asked with a grin.

Sasuke faltered. "I can leave if you want…?" he offered, backing away slowly.

"No, no, it's okay. I have to finish a Brit. Lit. paper anyway," Sakura told him, "It's on Great Expectations, so we literally have all night."

Sasuke nodded, "I did that about an hour ago," he answered, looking around for somewhere to sit. He opted for the foot of her bed. Sakura was sitting up against the headboard, laptop situated on her lap.

"You can ask questions, I'm listening," Sakura told Sasuke while resuming her typing.

"Right. Well, how was your childhood overall?" Sasuke asked, beginning to write in his chart.

Sakura laughed slightly. "Well, it really sucked at one point in time. Kids always made fun of me because of my forehead – it was kind of big for me, I grew into it though – and I never knew how to stick up for myself." She rolled her eyes at the memory, unconsciously brushing hair away from her forehead.

"Aa." Sasuke answered quietly, scribbling down '_Forehead, teasing, unhappy._' "Go on."

The pink-haired girl laughed. "Then I met Ino in kindergarten," she said, beaming. "She taught me how to defend myself, and how to be proud of who I was. I became kind of an egoist from then until 8th grade, when I just mellowed out."

Sasuke nodded, still writing.

"High school was fun. I met some friends, chopped off my hair – dyed it black at one point in time – and learned how to do my makeup correctly," Sakura continued typing while she spoke. "But I met _him_ too."

"Him?" Sasuke questioned softly, glancing up at her for a second.

"Sai. He was great at first – we made a good couple, I guess. But right after we were voted for homecoming king and queen, he turned to me and confessed. He was gay, and he'd been cheating on me the entire time with another guy," Sakura sighed, chewing on her lower lip as she thought some more. "Right after he told me, I punched his lights out," she added thoughtfully. "It was pretty fulfilling."

Sasuke winced. Despite how thin she was, he had the feeling Sakura could pack a pretty powerful punch. "How was your family?" he asked, drawing a line across his table and adding a new subtopic.

Sakura winced. "My mother walked out on us when I was 7 years old. We try not to talk about her," she laughed mechanically. "My dad raised me by himself. Which is probably why I'm not that girly," she said, looking down at her sweatpants.

Sasuke nodded in affirmation. Thank God for that too. He had seen Ino on his way here. She had been slightly buzzed, and in an outfit ten times trashier than the dumpster outside in the back parking lot.

Sucking in a soft breath, Sakura resumed typing ferociously. She just wanted to finish the stupid review at this point in time. Hitting Apple-S, she saved her paper, and gently pushed her laptop lid shut. Crawling off her bed, she reached towards her minifridge.

"Sasuke, you wanna VitaminWater?" she asked, pulling open the door.

Sasuke glanced at her impressively stocked fridge. "I'll have a Formula 50," he told her. She threw the drink at him casually. Of course, being the seemingly flawless Uchiha prodigy he was, he caught it with one fluid, lazy swipe at the air. "Thanks," he muttered, unscrewing the cap and taking a long swallow. "So, was there anything else special about your childhood…?" he asked.

Sakura chewed thoughtfully on the rim of her bottle, inhaling the delicious scent of XXX – acai-blueberry-pomegranate mix – and dug way back into her mind. "Well, I've always wanted to become a doctor, because of my dad. He was a surgeon, and then he retired to be a pediatrician after his eyesight started getting worse," she told him, taking a sip of her drink.

They kept on volleying questions and answers, Sasuke silently writing while Sakura chattered on about her life before college. "I started this VitaminWater addiction thing last year when I had to start applying for colleges. I needed something to keep me up, I drank my first Energy, and…well, it just branched out to me basically drinking it everyday," she giggled slightly before taking a swig of XXX.

"Aa," Sasuke nodded, writing down more notes. "I think that's good," he told her. "I'll see you tomorrow, I guess," he ended awkwardly, "…so, thanks."

Sakura nodded, smiling tiredly. "No problem." She watched as Sasuke gathered up his pen, notebook, and VitaminWater. She held the door open for him and ushered him out the door. "See you later Sasuke."

* * *

"Sasuke, you got back late last night," Naruto remarked at lunch the next day. "What were you doing teme?" he asked, wiggling his blond eyebrows suggestively. 

Sasuke calmly took a sip of his Rescue VitaminWater, green tea flavored. "I was working on homework," he told Naruto nonchalantly. "Unlike you two," he added, glancing at Ino and Naruto. Ino glanced up from her compact mirror, in the middle of fixing her hair, while Naruto momentarily stopped inhaling his ramen.

Ino shrugged. "It's college. Live it up," she told Sakura and Sasuke matter-of-factly. "These are supposed to be the best years of our lives, so why waste it studying 24/7?" She smiled cheekily before continuing to fix her hair in her tiny compact mirror. "Besides, it's not like we really got smashed…just buzzed a little."

"The best years of our lives were supposed to be _high school_, Pig," Sakura correctly dully. "And we all know that stereotype certainly wasn't true," she rolled her eyes before continuing to tuck into her veggie wrap.

Ino let out a strained laugh. Sakura was still touchy when it came to Sai, and high school in general. "Yeah, right."

"Um…"

Four heads at the table snapped up to the latest addition to their conversation, a particularly leggy blonde that gave Ino a run for her money.

"Yes?" Ino asked. "What's up, uh, Cho?" the girl was in her biology class.

"Hey Ino," Cho smiled sweetly. "Just wanted to see how you were doing," she answered, not even looking at Ino. Instead, her eyes were busy wandered up Sasuke's body. She met his deadpan look with coy amber eyes. "So…who's your friend?" she asked, turning her back to Sasuke so he could get a look of her long, slender legs, sticking out from her miniskirt nicely.

"That's Uchiha Sasuke," Ino said with a scowl. "And that's Uzumaki Naruto next to him, and this is my best friend, Haruno Sakura," she said, pointing at each of them in turn.

Cho bent over, resting her forearms on the table in front of Sasuke. She was only wearing a thin, lacy cami, showing ample cleavage – enough to get Naruto drooling anyway. "Sasuke," she whispered to the Uchiha, "Let's get together sometime," she cooed to him.

Ino and Sakura sighed inwardly. Cho was one of those girls who _always_ won over their prey. Naruto gaped openly, a thin line of saliva trickling down his chin, his cerulean eyes wide with testosterone.

A small crowd had started gathering around their quiet little lunch table – Cho's friends, no doubt, here to cheer her on.

Sakura rolled her eyes as she rested her chin in her palm, her elbow propped up on the table. She took her phone out, flipping it open, and beginning to type up a text to her father asking him whether or not he could maybe find her old notebook from high school with all of its doodles and creative elegance?

She glanced up, seafoam green peeking out from underneath bubble gum pink. Sasuke's new fangirls still weren't gone. She shrugged. Why did it even matter if they asked him out on a date, one by one? No guy was able to resist girls like Cho – pretty, relatively smart, popular, and straightforward.

Cho stood up and scooted over more, resting her chin on Sasuke's shoulder. "C'mon Sasuke, what do you say?" she asked, her honey blonde hair draping over him. "Let's get together sometime…?"

Sasuke snapped a bored gaze at her, then, slowly looked at everyone else, his gaze stopping at Sakura, who was busy texting someone on her silver EnV phone.

"How about not," he said, shaking Cho off not-too-gently and picking up his messenger bag and lunch tray. "Sakura," he said when he passed her. "Come on."

Sakura clamped her phone shut and gathered her belongings. "Okay?" she dumped her tray, snatching her VitaminWater from it just in time before it started to go into the trash.

--

"Lunch was fun," Sakura commented to Sasuke dryly as they made their way to the psychology lecture hall. She sipped a bit of her Defense VitaminWater, raspberry-apple flavored.

Sasuke rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his blue-black locks. "Sure it was," he agreed sarcastically, "If you like trash."

* * *

Burn. 

I tried to find an out-of-the-box-ish-not-really way to portray Sasuke's immunity. It kind of worked.

Review. (:


	4. 03: Focus

**Vitamin**Water Fact Number 4: Those tiny, 12 ounce **Vitamin**Water bottles are cute as anything. Don't deny it.

* * *

_Like__**Vitamin**__Water_  
x. by ANGELforSHOW

**Chapter Three**: Focus.  
**Purpose**: More clarity.

* * *

-

About a month into the new school year, Naruto stared the day Ino and Sakura wandered slowly into the cafeteria for breakfast. Sakura was the same – clean looking, with neat, conservative clothing, and a touch of mascara. But Ino – Ino was a mess, a literal walking disaster, if you would.

Her hair was down and unstyled. Instead of its usual, sleek, blonde, pin-straight ponytail, it was in its natural form, wavy, with natural dirty blonde lowlights. She wore Leaf sweatpants (from her high school years), with old, worn-in Birkenstock clogs and an old sweatshirt that proclaimed CHEER in loud white letters across its faded navy fabric. Apparently, Ino hadn't even found the will to put on eyeliner, blue eyes surrounded by pink rims instead of kohl black.

As they sat down, Naruto's eyebrows furrowed as he loudly whispered, "Hey Sakura, what's wrong with Ino?" incorrectly thinking that Ino would not hear him. "Is she PMSing or something?"

Ino shot him a half-hearted dirty look with bloodshot baby blue eyes before burying her head in her arms on the table.

Sakura ignored Naruto, and patted Ino's back consolingly. "C'mon Pig, cheer up," she said. "You'll find someone else, I know you will." A frown tugged at her mouth, despite her cheery voice.

Ino sat up, slumped over in her chair. Her lower lip trembled. "I just don't get it," she whispered exasperatedly. "How could Shikamaru dump me after _three_ years?" she asked Sakura. "I've been nothing but good to him," she argued with a dry voice.

Naruto listened to the hushed conversation intently, intending on figuring out what was wrong with Ino. Sasuke's ears perked up a bit too, although just for kicks and giggles.

Sakura rolled here eyes. "Oh honestly Ino, if he had the nerve to cheat on you as soon as you were in college and out of earshot, there's no reason for you to cry over him!" Sakura whispered furiously. "HE'S the jerk, HE should be crying that he lost YOU!"

A faint touch of a cracked smile appeared on Ino's face, slightly red from the heavy crying she had been doing earlier. "Riiiiight," she drawled out sarcastically.

"Go get some food now," Sakura said, gently pushing Ino off her chair. "You need food. AND COFFEE," she mothered Ino loudly. "Motherfuckin' caffeine!"

Ino snorted as she got up slowly from her chair. "Sakura, shut up," she said with a half-smile. But even Sasuke and Naruto could read the meaning behind her smirk.

She was saying thank you.

--

Naruto waited until Ino was safely out of earshot before crouching down closer to the small table and asking, "Sakura, what happened?"

Sasuke rolled his eyes, and seemingly proceeded checking his e-mail on his phone, but his head was tilted slightly, one ear facing in. One also noticed that although he was "responding to an e-mail", his thumbs were barely moving across the keyboard.

Sakura's eyes darted around the cafeteria before she leaned in to talk. "Well, last night Ino's boyfriend, Shikamaru, called," she explained. "He goes to college in Sand, so we naturally haven't seen him for a while." Naruto nodded, urging her to continue. "But he called Ino, and told her that they were breaking up."

Sasuke decided this was all the information he really cared to know, and withdrew himself from the discussion.

"Ino and Shikamaru have been dating since the 10th grade," Sakura explained. "So naturally, Ino was freaking crushed. But then – " Sakura lowered her voice dramatically. "We found out he had been cheating on her ever since he got to college."

Naruto's ocean blue eyes narrowed. _Bastard_, he thought. Scratching at his canary colored hair, he smiled sheepishly. "I guess we should try and keep Ino happy then," he said. "Hear that Sasuke-bastard? We're going to be _niiiice_ to day." Naruto said the word 'nice' slowly and clearly. After all, Uchiha Sasuke didn't seem to know the meaning of the word 'nice'.

Ino came back, setting her tray down on the table. Her plate was piled high with hash brown potatoes with ketchup on the side, and she had two cups of coffee ready for her. As for as Sakura could see, Ino had also stolen half of the sugar packets and half the pitcher of Half-and-Half.

So much for the healthy diet.

As Ino began to fairly gorge herself with her comfort starches, Sakura sighed inwardly before getting up to get her own food. It was a toast day, she decided. And maybe she'd get an apple too.

Sitting back down, Sakura took a small chunk of her apple out, chewing thoughtfully as she watched Naruto struggle to figure out what to say to start up a conversation.

"So, are you guys playing any sports this year?" Naruto asked before taking a swig of milk. He glanced from Ino to Sakura expectantly.

Sakura snorted. "Do I _look_ like I can play actual sports?" she asked Naruto. "I'd ice skate, but I don't know if there's a figure skating team here. And I used to run track, so I might do that in the spring. That's about it though."

Ino swallowed a particularly large bit of potato. "I think I'm going to do winter cheerleading," she answered. "But I don't know how good the squad is here. I'd like to be on a team that did more stunts than yelling."

Naruto had no idea what that meant, but decided to nod in appreciation anyway.

"What about you two?" Sakura asked, taking another crunchy bite out of her apple. "Thanks for reminding me, by the way."

"Bastard plays soccer, and I do cross country," Naruto answered, swiping a bagel half off of Sasuke's tray. He wasn't going to eat it, so why let it go to waste? "But in the winter we play basketball."

As if on cue, Ino's face crumpled.

"Shikamaru played basketbaaaaall," she wailed, and promptly began to cry again.

Sakura kicked Naruto from underneath the table, while Sasuke glanced at Ino, muttering, "Way to go you idiot."

* * *

Sakura couldn't concentrate.

Given, it was chemistry class, which radiated boredom (they were learning about naming compounds. Which she definitely already did in 11th grade), but she still couldn't concentrate.

After all, how could Sakura focus on naming covalent compounds – "Remember, -ate is -ic and -ite is -ous!" Anko-sensei's voice chirped in her ear – when she knew her best friend in the world was obviously distressed and most likely skipping her biology class to have a good cry.

Anko stood at the front of the lab, flipping through their textbook. "Hm, remember that there's only one type of bond that share electrons to form ions – COVALENT bonds…"

Sakura scribbled down the note on her paper, not really focusing (later, she realized that she had spelled 'type' incorrectly as 'tipe' and accidentally wrote 'inos' instead of 'ions').

There was only one type of bond that shared electrons…just like how there was only one type of guy in the world – the stupid shallow asshole.

Angrily, Sakura recalled all the boys she and Ino had encountered over the years: Shikamaru, of course, the cheating bastard, and Sai, the dickface who turned out to be cheating on her with another guy. Rock Lee had been sweet for a while, but then turned out to be just plain creepy, while Hyuuga Neji was an aloof ass.

In short, they were all selfish bastards who had no consideration for the girl's feelings.

She remembered in 12th grade when she and Ino had written down a ridiculous list of qualities a "perfect" boy would have after the Sai ordeal. She still had it somewhere, but there was no doubt that no one would ever be able to say yes to half of the characteristics they had listed.

Sakura tapped her pencil furiously against the edge of the table. There were few exceptions to her "all guys suck" rule, but quite honestly, she would probably never meet a "perfect" guy. She didn't in high school, and probably wouldn't in college, life, or ever. It would just never happen.

Never.

* * *

Sakura dropped her tote on her chair quite unceremoniously when she got to their small group's usual table in the cafeteria. She was first there today. Pulling the chair out, she sat down quickly and pulled out her VitaminWater – Focus, kiwi-strawberry flavored – and downed the rest of the bottle in one gulp.

"What's biting you?" Sasuke asked monotonously, arriving in time to see the last part of her angry tirade. He sat down and leaned back, nestling his hands in his pockets. "Well?" he asked when she just rolled her eyes and muttered something under her breath.

Sakura threw her empty bottle into a recycling bin, the plastic bottle sailing through the air in a graceful arc before bouncing off the rim into the bin. "Men are _assholes_," she told Sasuke shortly.

Sasuke blinked a few times. "Why?"

"Aren't you nosy today?" Sakura replied bitingly, digging through her tote again. "Well, if you must know, I spent my last class thinking about Ino's predicament, and how all the guys we've ever met are utter, complete _assholes_."

Sasuke's eyebrows lifted just the tiniest fraction of a centimeter. "Maybe you should skip class sometime and work out these issues," he said to her flatly. "Not all guys dicks, y'know." He shook some hair out of his face (several girls squealed at the next table over) and took out his own VitaminWater, a half-finished bottle of Essential (orange-orange flavor) from early that morning.

Sakura stopped rummaging through her tote. "Really?" she asked with false excitement. "Like who?" She pulled out a regular bottle of water and opened it, taking in the plastic-tasting Evian.

Sasuke looked straight into her mint colored eyes. "Like me," he answered quietly before getting up to get lunch, leaving Sakura in a momentary state of puzzlement.

* * *

Sakura sat in her dorm later that night, recopying her notes from chemistry. She had changed inos back to ions and worked on writing them in pen so they wouldn't smudge.

"Ah, fuck." Her pen died, the blue ink stopping right in the middle of 'electrons'. Scribbling on a spare Post-It note, she confirmed that her pen indeed had kicked the bucket.

Reach towards her pencil cup, she cursed again when she saw a picture of her, Sai, Ino, and Shikamaru together at homecoming – only six hours before Sai confessed to her and basically ruined her life. Sai's face had been scribbled out with a permanent marker, but Shikamaru's was still intact…

Taking a mini Post-It Note, she slapped it on Shikamaru's quarter of the photo and wrote JERK in big letters on it with a Sharpie. Satisfied, she went back to searching for a new pen when her eyes landed on another picture. It was her, Ino, Naruto, and Sasuke at lunch, from around a week ago. Ino loved pictures, so naturally, she started taking pictures straight away.

"_Not all guys are dicks, y'know."_  
"_Really? Like who?"_  
"_Like me."_

Sakura gave a dry laugh when she recalled his words from earlier.

Flipping through her desk, she got out her old journal out. The "Perfect Boy" list she and Ino had written last year was still somewhere inside of it, a reminder to never submit to pain like Sai again.

Smiling slightly, she unfolded the crinkly notebook paper.

**_The Perfect Guy_**

_-Sweet.  
-Sensitive.  
-HOT _(that was Ino).  
-_Romantic.  
-Intelligent.  
-Slightly spontaneous.  
-Not boring.  
-In shape.  
-HOT _(Ino again)  
_-Considerate.  
-Gentle.  
-Talented.  
-Strong.  
-Interesting.  
-Kind.  
-Concerned.  
-Hygienic.  
-Smells deliciousss._

Sakura laughed as the list continued on. Sasuke claimed he wasn't a dick, but was he a so-called perfect guy according to Ino and Sakura?

Sakura checked each quality over, thinking if Sasuke had them. He was sweet, she had to admit – he did ask her if she was okay, which also implied sensitivity…

Hot – he did have a banging body, but she would never admit that out loud.

Letting out a sarcastic laugh she continued comparing, checking the ones that Sasuke seemingly possessed.

When she was done, she examined the entire sheet of paper. Her smile sunk immediately.

Over 80 percent of the paper was checked off.

She gritted her teeth. No. Way.

* * *

Happy New Year! 2008 bby. Ahaha.

Review. (:


	5. 04: Balance

**Vitamin**Water Fact Number 5: Some flavors just taste like water with a little bit of glucose. There's no use denying it. Like Essential – chic orange-orange flavored water, or diluted Sunny D?

* * *

_Like__**Vitamin**__Water_  
x. by ANGELforSHOW

**Chapter Four**: Balance.  
**Purpose**: More flexibility.

* * *

- 

Sakura dragged herself out of bed the following morning looking quite dreadful. Even though she had used endless amounts of concealer, she still couldn't quite cover up the bags underneath her eyes.

"Sakura…you look_ awful_," Ino said bluntly to her at breakfast. "What were you doing all last night?" Ino seemed as if she had straightened herself out overnight – her hair was perfect again, all of her makeup was on, and she was back to wearing stylish clothing as opposed to baggy sweats. Sure she looked perfect again, but anyone could tell that she was still hurting inside.

"I had work to do…" Sakura yawned out. "I would've slept in today, but meals with you guys are pretty much necessary – " – "Aw thank you," Ino cooed – " – and we have that stupid psychology lecture this morning," Sakura finished. Ino's smile dropped.

"Here, take some coffee, you need it," Ino said, offering Sakura her paper cup. Naruto held up his take away cup as well, smiling brightly.

"No," Sakura waved off the bitter brown beverage. "I have my own provisions," she said with a tired smile as she opened a bottle of Energy VitaminWater.

"Hn," Sasuke muttered approvingly, holding up a bottle of Energy as well. Apparently Sasuke was up late last night too. There were the tiniest hint of bags underneath his eyes, and his hair wasn't quite as perky and artfully messy as it usually was.

Ino shrugged and turned to Naruto and Sasuke. "So, did you know that apparently Anko-sensei and Kakashi-sensei are dating?" she asked them with an incredulous look. "I would've suspected…what about you Sakura?" she questioned, turning to the pink-haired girl expectantly. "Oh dear…"

Sakura seemed to had fallen asleep on the table, and her hair was trickling into Naruto's cereal.

Ino raised and eyebrow and picked up a lock of Sakura's milk-dipped hair. "…Ew."

* * *

Quite honestly, Sakura had to say that psychology was her favorite class. Not only was it with her best friends in college so far, but also Ibiki was a good teacher, and there was little work to do outside of class – 

"Starting today, you and your partner are going to do a research paper on a certain part of the brain," Ibiki told them. "When I call you up, one partner is going to draw a brain part from the bag. That'll be your report topic. Ino's handing out a rubric," – he thrust a pile of papers at Ino – "It's due tomorrow. When you get all of your materials, you can leave," he told them. "Go."

Sakura's eye twitched. So much for psych being her favorite class.

"Uchiha, Haruno, pick a part," Ibiki barked from the front of the room.

"I'll get it," Sasuke offered. Casually, he made his way to the front of the room to join their teacher. Sakura watched in mild interest as she saw several girls check out his ass while he walked by.

By the time he had returned, Ino had just handed her a rubric.

"Good news, we have the cerebellum," Sasuke informed her dryly. "The mini-brain." He sat down next to Sakura, and looked at the rubric.

Sakura scowled. "Oh GOODIE," she told him sarcastically in a downright bitter voice.

"In 10 point font too," Sasuke muttered. He reached over and took the paper from Sakura. "_1.5_ spacing…"

"The man's a sadist," Sakura deadpanned flatly. "How many pages?"

"Oh, only 10." Sasuke returned monotonously. "Well fuck, this will be easy." He unscrewed the cap to his VitaminWater and took in a long sip. Tropical Citrus flavored Energy might've tasted a bit too much like a liquefied pineapple for his taste, but at least it had caffeine.

"It's due tomorrow," Sakura muttered, digging out her textbook. "I vote we go to the library now and check everything out, then crash in one of our dorms overnight to finish this," she said, shoving her textbook back into her bag and standing up.

Sasuke got to his feet as well, swinging his bag over his shoulder. "Sounds good," he replied quietly. "Let's go."

* * *

The University's library was much bigger than Sakura had ever imagined a library could be. The first time she came inside, she nearly peed her pants from surprise. There were rooms for every specialized "topic", and among the three floors, she knew there was a café tucked in somewhere between the shelves and papers. 

"The Psych. Room is on the third floor…" Sakura said to no one in particular as she and Sasuke made their way to the stairs.

They already found people from their class there, although thankfully they were doing a project on the spinal chord as opposed to something related to the cerebellum.

Sasuke grabbed 'The Cerebellum' and sat down on the floor between their shelves, flipping through the textbook, notebook in hand.

Thumbing through books, Sakura selected a particularly dusty red one. "'History of the Brain'," she told Sasuke's irritated look when she dropped the book next to where he was sitting with an un-ceremonial thunk.

Making her way back along the aisle, she quickly narrowed down which books would be helpful and which wouldn't. Sitting down next to Sasuke, she placed her pile of books between them.

"Okay, I've got 'Little Brain, Big Wonder', 'Depth and Perception, Cerebellum Style', 'Motor Skills, Cerebellum Style', and a whole bunch more," Sakura told him, jabbing at her pile. "So now what?"

Sasuke shrugged. "I'll look one more time in case you forgot anything," he told her, getting up and shuffling away. Sakura nodded and nestled in between two large encyclopedias before cracking open 'Little Brain, Big Wonder'.

After learning that the cerebellum controlled motor skills and sensory perception, Sasuke rejoined her with two more books in hand. "Let's go," he said, adding his books to the pile and bending down to pick it up.

Good naturedly, Sakura swiped half the pile away from him, "Right," she answered, "Best to get out of here before the cerebral motor cortex people get here," she said nodding seriously before rolling her eyes.

Sasuke rolled his eyes as he held the door open for Sakura as she struggled through with her large pile of brain books.

His partner was rather strange.

-

-

-

-

Sure enough, when Ino and Naruto wandered into the library about an hour and a half later, they were rather pissed off when they found all of their books had been taken.

"I knew it," Ino hissed, smacking Naruto on the shoulder. "I knew it was a bad idea to let you pick our brain part."

Naruto rubbed his shoulder through his orange track jacket. "Hey, hey! I thought the cerebral motor cortex was a _fine_ part – AH!"

He dropped to the floor just in time to ignore the literal encyclopedia that had been aimed at his face, thrown courtesy of Ino.

"Just look for something," she said, annoyed, before letting out another frustrated, "AUGH!"

* * *

Sasuke paused to scribble down a few notes, glancing up momentarily at Sakura. She had fallen asleep again, the troublesome girl. They were both in Sasuke's dorm, seeing how they had been at Sakura's last time, sitting up against the side of the bed on the floor. However, Sakura seemed to keep finding that nice soft spot against the mattress, and sleep seemed to keep finding her. 

"Oi, wake up," Sasuke said softly, poking Sakura with his pen. She didn't move. He jabbed at her again, leaving a blue dot on her arm.

Slowly, the pink-haired girl stirred. "Mmm?" she mumbled sleepily, "Oh sorry Sasuke, I fell asleep again, didn't I?"

"Hn," Sasuke nodded slightly, he flipped open another book to its cover page, scanning for the copyright date. "I hate bibliographies," he muttered, barely audible.

"I can do –" Sakura paused to yawn, " – it if you want me to," she offered. Rubbing at her eyes, she adjusted her position against Sasuke's bed frame once more, stretching out her legs. Perhaps she wouldn't have been as tired if she hadn't changed her clothes – she had switched out dark skinny jeans and a pink blouse for sweatpants, Underarmour, and a classily-retro tee.

"It's fine," Sasuke shook his head, pushing away an encyclopedia to grab one of the 'Cerebellum Style' books.

Sakura shrugged, while continuing to type on Sasuke's MacBook Pro. She had gotten a long introduction finished, and split up their brain part into five different sections, enough to cover at least eight or nine pages, and a conclusion…

"Sakura, _wake up_," Sasuke hissed to her, the faintest edge of irritation along his normally calm voice.

Sakura's eyes snapped open. "Sorry, sorry," she apologized, "I won't fall asleep again!" she opened a brand new bottle of Energy and chugged half of it. She gagged slightly. "I'm sorry Sasuke."

Sasuke gritted his teeth as he almost tore out the copyright page to 'Little Brain, Big Wonder'. "Why are you so tired?" he asked, annoyed while he searched the book for a copyright date.

"Well, I was up all night doing this project for Anko-sensei…we had to make this gigantic Periodic Table, right? And I of course had to procrasti –" she paused. "You don't care, do you?" she asked Sasuke dryly.

"Not right now I don't," Sasuke told her frankly. "All I care about right now is finishing this report." He pushed 'History of the Brain' off his lap, cringing at the dusty trail it left on his dark plaid shorts.

"Ugh, let's take a break," Sasuke decided, standing up and brushing himself off. "Come on," he told Sakura; reaching down to pull her up from her seated position.

Sakura followed Sasuke out his dorm room, smoothing down rose-colored locks that had been frazzled during her multiple naps.

"Why are you so tired again?" Sasuke asked her quietly, hands in his pockets. He was wearing a white long-sleeved tee with 'Abercrombie' emblazoned across his (well muscled, Sakura drooled inwardly) chest.

"I spent the entire night doing a project for chem. class," Sakura repeated herself dully. "A straight ten hours."

Sasuke cringed inwardly. "Did you even take a break?" he asked, imagining himself working for ten hours on a physics project. Not possible, not even for the stoic Uchiha Sasuke.

"Nope."

"When was the last time you did something fun?" Sasuke muttered darkly as they past a particularly giggly group of fangirls.

"Like…summer?" Sakura offered pathetically.

Sasuke sighed. "Y'know, usually I'm not one to advocate this, but…" he spun on his heel and started marching straight back towards his room.

"What? Wait – where are you going?" Sakura asked, jogging to catch up to him.

"You need to do something that's not related to school," Sasuke answered, walking on. "Balance out school with fun."

* * *

"Fucking God, this is delicious!" Sakura cooed to the chocolate as she let it sit on her tongue and melt. She took a sip out of her coffee mug. "And VitaminWater and vodka…how did you ever think of this?" she asked Sasuke, who likewise was holding his own mug. 

"This is how I stay awake at night," Sasuke said, typing his portion of the report quickly. He hit 'Apple-S', making the document save. "The chocolates are Naruto's."

Sakura drained her mug before pouring some more Defense (raspberry-apple) into her mug, and spiking it with vodka. She licked her lips after she took a long swig of the concoction.

"Alright, we're done this stupid report," Sasuke told her, closing his laptop. He pushed the books into a stack in the corner, and set his computer on his desk.

Mixing some more Balance VitaminWater (cran-grapefruit) and vodka into his cup, he eyed Sakura, who was happily drinking her drink on his bed. "Y'know, we still have half a bottle of vodka left…" he told her, "and lots of VitaminWater…"

Sakura grinned impishly. "Fuck yeah let's finish it!" she told him, holding out her mug for more.

* * *

"S-saa-Sasuke," Sakura slurred out to the Uchiha. 

Sasuke blinked. He was pleasantly buzzed, but although Sakura had consumed the same amount of alcohol as him, she obviously couldn't hold it as well. "Yeah?" he asked her, his tongue feeling a bit fuzzy.

"Thanks," she said to him, sitting down next to him on the bed. She hiccupped. "For teaching me to have fun…" she leaned her head against him, still clutching her mug.

Sasuke leaned his head onto hers. "Nahh, thank you," he told her, eyelids drooping.

"Hmm?" Sakura mumbled, her eyes closed, as she inhaled Sasuke's scent.

Sasuke paused, and Sakura swore she felt a pair of lips pressing against her hair. "Thanks for –" he paused, "thanks for not falling over me…and being my friend," he whispered, his eyelids slipping shut on their own.

Sakura smiled faintly before giving into the urge to sleep. After all, Uchiha Sasuke never lied – especially when he was a tad tipsy.

Too bad she wouldn't remember any of it later.

* * *

This was so hard to write for some reason. "balance: more flexibility" if you can think of a scene to go along with that theme, I'll hug you, hahaha. Now, I'm going to go study for midterms. 

Review. (:


	6. 05: Endurance

**Vitamin**Water Fact Number 6: Apparently **Vitamin**Water isn't considered 'water' at Isabel's (a.k.a. ANGELforSHOW) school. Because she definitely got a detention for drinking it during class. Well, and for talking too much.

* * *

_Like__**Vitamin**__Water_  
x. by ANGELforSHOW

**Chapter Five**: Endurance.  
**Purpose**: More sustained energy.

* * *

-

"Uchiha, Haruno, this report was very well written," Ibiki told the partners as he handed back the paper on the cerebellum the two had written (and gotten tipsy-slash-drunk over).

Sakura looked at the paper with a mixture of disgust and fondness. After all, getting drunk on VitaminWater and vodka was possibly the craziest thing she had done since the series of pranks with Ino last year that consisted of her revenge on Sai. Waking up snuggled against Sasuke was a plus as well – from what she could feel against her stomach, the boy had a nice six-pack going on for him. Yes, that was definitely worth it – the hangover, not so much.

It had taken Ibiki about a week to grade all of the papers, and after he handed the last paper back, he strolled back to the front of the room and let up the overhead screen with a loud snap.

"TEST TOMORROW" decorated the chalkboard in scraggly white letters.

Ibiki smirked with cruel satisfaction from the panicked looks he could see blooming on his young students' faces. "The test is on everything we've covered so far this year. Think of it as a mid-term. You have the rest of the period to study," Ibiki told his class, watching with amusement as the panicked looks shifted from worried to scared_shitless_. "Go."

Naruto groaned as he pulled out his textbook, flipping it open to the first chapter. "QUIZ ME INO," he demanded loudly, slapping his book closed right after he opened it.

Ino rolled here eyes and popped open a brand new Frappuccino, chocolate mocha flavored. "Um, how about not?" she told him, cracking open her MacBook Pro and opening up a file with all of her psychology notes, typed.

"Ooh, gimme some Frappe!" Naruto fairly squealed, lunging at Ino's Frappuccino bottle.

"Um, how about _not_?" she repeated again. "I need to get a good grade on this test, so shut your face," Ino told the blond boy.

Naruto slid further down into his seat and propped his feet up on the chair in front of him. "Whatever Ino," he sulked, opening his textbook again. Even his neon-Nike'd feet seemed to droop in defeat.

Satisfied, Ino returned her attention to her computer, skimming notes from weeks ago. The quiet murmur of the classroom dimmed significantly as she got absorbed into the wonders of human behavior. Until…

"Hey Naruto?"

"Yes Ino?"

"Put. The Frap. _Down_."

"…ah, dammit."

* * *

Sakura returned to dinner, her head practically spinning with knowledge. NOT.

"So I definitely didn't get _any_ studying done," she complained at the table, spearing the spinach leaves in her salad with sharp stabs. Irritated, she blew a lock of pink hair away from her face before it got caught in some of her low-fat Italian dressing.

Ino laughed. "I tried. And failed," she agreed, nodding, "'Cause _someone_ kept stealing my Frap-fix for the day," she hissed, shooting a glare towards Naruto while taking an angry bite out of her veggie wrap.

Naruto shrugged. "I was thirsty," he defended lazily, downing practically a whole slice of pizza.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "It's no big deal, the test'll be easy," he told his tablemates dully. "It's psych class." He sipped his VitaminWater of the day, an Endurance, peach-mango flavored and specially formulated for sustained energy.

Sakura bared her teeth, annoyed. "Well, if YOU'RE so smart, I demand you host a study party for us tonight. And teach us ALL," she told Sasuke, dropping her fork and pushing her tray away. "I want ice cream," she decided suddenly, getting up to wander to the soft serve machine.

She returned with a small bowl of vanilla ice cream, dusted with rainbow sprinkles. "Well Sasuke, what do you say?" she asked.

"Hn?"

"Me, you, Naruto, Ino. Study party. Your dorm," she told him. "Tonight," she added, licking her spoon.

"Fine," Sasuke shrugged. If he wanted them out, he could always just go to sleep.

Sakura smiled. "So it's decided – in one hour we'll meet at Sasuke's dorm," she chirped. "Wear your pajamas or something with all of the psychology shit you can find – and bring your clothes slash stuff for tomorrow too, 'cause we're crashing the place afterwards," she warned the Uchiha with a wicked grin.

Naruto and Ino grinned in agreement, praising the high power of their choice that Sakura had thought of setting this study party up. Without it, failure was quite the option.

Sasuke shrugged once more before taking a bite of his chicken sandwich. "Whatever."

* * *

Sasuke sighed as he threw his comforter over his bed, making it neatly. Propping his pillow up against the headboard, he tucked the edges of the blanket in around the walls before moving to clean up his desk.

Sasuke's desk was lonely, with only a small lamp, three pens and one pencil in a cup, and a solitary framed picture of the four of them at lunch. Ino had proudly presented them a picture of their group a few weeks ago, even going as far as to make copies and frame them. Pushing in his desk chair, he proceeded to straighten out his dorm.

It was a wonder how they had all managed to snag single-dorms this year, Sasuke thought to himself, bemused. After all, singles were the hardest to obtain, and by far the most desirable. It was quiet, private, and solitary, while relatively spacious. The best part had to be the attached bathroom through. Even though it was only a toilet and a sink (showers had to be taken communally), it was your _own toilet_.

"Oi Sasuke!"

Sasuke pushed everything into place one last time before he opened his door. He would never let Naruto see him cleaning after all. He'd never hear the end of it, seeing how Naruto was the new dirty-man on campus.

Naruto was dressed quite literally in his pajamas, in a pair of blue striped PJs with a bear hat tugged down over his unruly blond locks. Sasuke had opted for dressing down, with an old soccer shirt and Konoha sweats.

There was a knock at the door, and Ino and Sakura bounded into the dorm, eager to put their things down.

"Hey guys," Ino greeted, setting her overnight tote and purse down in the corner, followed by Sakura's own overnight bag and purse. "What's up?"

Naruto grinned at the two girls. "Psychology," he told them. "Duh."

Sakura rolled her eyes and sat down on the floor, where she had sat previously. "C'mon, we have to get something done," she said, "I need to pass this." She opened her psych. notebook and starting at day 1, slowly reading her notes.

Sasuke sat down next to her, as Naruto and Ino fought over who would get the bed to sit on. "You should organize your notes better," he commented, looking over Sakura's shoulder at her notebook. They were written in bullet-form, just randomly listed, page after page.

"I know," Sakura sighed miserably. "I started typing them eventually though."

They fell silent once more.

"OHMYGOD guys, we should play trashcan basketball, psychology style!" Naruto screeched after ten minutes of solitary note reviewing.

Ino flinched at the word 'basketball', but her boredom won over her tears by a long shot. "YEAH!" she agreed. "I used to do this last year all the time with – well, never mind," she bit her lip before continuing. "Anyway, we'll split up into partners, take turns shooting, and we'll ask a question before the pair shoots. If they get the question right, they can shoot. They get one point for the right answer, and another point if they get the shot. Losing team can treat the other team out for dinner the next holiday we have," she smirked.

Sakura and Sasuke sighed before standing up. "You're on Pig," Sakura told Ino, stretching her arms.

Naruto swung Sasuke trash can onto his desk and wadded up several sheets of paper into a ball. "Bring it on, we're SO going to wipe the floors with you guys."

--

"How much do you think Naruto costs for one meal?" Sakura asked Sasuke soberly as she watched Ino and Naruto jump up and down, celebrating their recent victory.

"A lot," Sasuke muttered, sitting down on his bed in annoyance.

Ino linked arms with Naruto. "Naruto, I think this means we don't need to study anymore," she said, sticking her tongue out at Sakura and Sasuke. "Later bitchessss!" she cried, scooping up her things and dragging Naruto out the door with her, in which he happily obliged.

"Let's go party – it's only midnight!" Naruto said to Ino as they pranced out the door. "BEER ALL AROUND!" he hollered, bouncing down the hallway.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I guess we should study," she told Sasuke with a half-frown.

"Aa," Sasuke agreed, picking up his notebook. "We still have six more weeks of notes to go through," he informed Sakura.

Sakura was honestly considering bashing her head in right about then.

* * *

"How many more weeks?" Sakura asked, lying on her stomach on Sasuke's bed as she dangled over the edge by Sasuke's head. "It's 2 AM, I think we're almost done, right?"

"Three more weeks," Sasuke quipped dully. "If we keep up this pace, we'll be done by 4."

Sakura groaned. "I'm so fucking tired," she mumbled to herself.

Sasuke tapped her head lightly with his pencil. "Well, get over it," he said to her dully. "Now, what are emotions?" he asked.

"Something that you don't have," Sakura snapped back.

"Besides that," Sasuke replied dryly.

Sakura sighed, fisting her pink air and tugging at a knot she felt in her left hand.

"Complex reactions of the nervous system to either external or internal stimuli."

Sasuke nodded. "C'mon, only two more weeks of shit," he told her, patting her head.

Sakura mock-glared and patted his head back, ruffling already-messy blue-black spikes. "Let's just get this over with," she said him with a tired smile.

* * *

Ino and Naruto came in to the cafeteria the next day red-eyed and tired, just like Sakura and Sasuke.

"I hope that test isn't hard," Ino muttered, "Because I don't really remember anything before the hangover," she groaned, sipping at a cup of iced coffee.

"Amen," Naruto agreed, drinking the same beverage. "God, my head hurts," he complained.

"That's what you get for skipping out on the study session to go get drunk," Sakura told the two sardonically. "Sasuke and I might be tired, but at least we'll pass," she said, digging around inside of her bag for her VitaminWater.

Pulling out an Endurance, she smiled as she practically felt the peach-mango liquid crawling through her veins and delivering more energy.

Sasuke nodded in approval, once again holding a bottle identical to hers.

The table fell into a comfortable silence as they ate in quiet, each munching on toast and their preferred drink.

"Ah, it's time for class," Sakura informed everyone a few minutes later, waving her phone before standing up. "Let's go apply our knowledge, shall we?" she asked, smiling slightly.

The other three followed her wordlessly out the door.

--

"You have the entire class to finish," Ibiki told them, handing the group of four a test packet at the door. "Begin."

Sakura sat down a seat away from Sasuke and smiled as she saw the first question. "What is an emotion? Pick an emotion and use it in a proper situation with the correct stimuli."

Sakura picked up her pen and began to write neatly in the space below the question.

_An emotion is the nervous system's reaction to either an internal or external stimuli. One of the most common emotions is love – _

Sakura glanced up at Sasuke, smiling slightly as she saw him hunched over his desk, writing quickly.

– _which is felt when the brain is stimulated by an external stimuli that pleasures the human. Often, this stimuli is something such as a puppy, or a certain song. But most commonly, love is found between two humans who find comfort within each other…_

-

-

-

-

"Good job Haruno, 100 percent."

"Thank you, sir."

* * *

Sorry for the delay. I got my wisdom teeth removed yesterdays. It hurt like a bitch.

Uh, I know it may seem like it, but in no way do I advocate underage drinking. :D

**Q&A:**

**01. Where can you buy VitaminWater?**  
Most stores have it, if you check under flavored water. I haven't encountered any at Walmart though. Slash, my knowledge only applies to the US. 'Cause I live there.

**02. Have you ever had VitaminWater and vodka?**  
No – but the next time I go hang out with a couple of my friends, we're totally trying it. ;)

**03. Asdadjkas, vodka/Sasuke/Sakura!!!**  
I know what you're thinking, you dirty mind; this fic's rating won't be going up anymore. Hahaha.

**04. Will Tenten and Neji make an appearance? Slash everyone else?**  
I'm trying to keep this to as little characters as possible. Other characters will probably be mentioned in passing at the most.

**05. What IS your inspiration for this crazy shit?**  
VitaminWater (everyday bby), Gossip Girl, and the Juno Soundtrack. And I totally re-read TheCherryOnTop by ohwhatsherface over the weekend, and that gave me a fair bit of motivation too.

**06. Ew, uh, do you have an unhealthy obsession with VitaminWater or something?**  
It's healthy (ish) and delicious. Duh. Uh, yeah, I usually have one everyday though. And withdrawal symptoms _will_ emerge after 24 hours… Haha, NOT. It's just good, alright?

Review. (:


	7. 06: Essential

**Vitamin**Water Fact Number 7: At a store, **Vitamin**Water usually costs around $1.30 (US). It's a TOTAL rip-off when they start selling it at your school for $1.50 instead…

* * *

_Like__**Vitamin**__Water_  
x. by ANGELforSHOW

**Chapter Six**: Essential.  
**Purpose**: Morning Nutrition.

* * *

- 

Everyone learns when they're in elementary school that "breakfast is the most important meal of the day!" Well, unless you're French – then it's lunch.

Sakura, on her way to medical school in hopes of becoming a doctor, definitely knew this.

This is why she made everyone eat something at breakfast. She wasn't in the pre-med program for nothing – Haruno Sakura definitely knew that in order to function properly throughout the entire day, breakfast was definitely needed. Everyday.

Besides, she mused, breakfast foods were always so delicious.

French toast, waffles, pancakes, doughnuts, bacon, eggs, toast, cereal, oatmeal, orange juice, coffee, hot chocolate, croissants, omelets, sausage, ham, fruit, Nutella, cinnamon buns, yogurt, espressos, tea, hash browns, grits, scrapple, pastries…!

No doubt about it, Sakura _loved_ her breakfast foods.

She'd enjoyed her Cocoa Puffs and Lucky Charms as an elementary school-er, and the she grew more sophisticated in middle school, insisting on Bisquick pancakes every morning. She absolutely adored breakfast in high school, making herself omelets everyday (extra cheese with green peppers and bacon bits).

It was no surprise that she loved college breakfast even more. She got to meet her best friends, Naruto, Ino, and Sasuke in the cafeteria everyday at 8:30 for her favorite meal ever. The food was decent, and the company was always wonderful. Ino was bright and cheerful, while Naruto was downright chipper. Sasuke, although always quiet was terrific once you had him talking.

As a plus, breakfast always meant a new flavor of VitaminWater for the day, and a new start at life.

But, was there something else about breakfast at college she loved too?

* * *

"Mm," Sakura cooed appreciatively. "This cinnamon bun is pretty good. Pig, you have to try one," she told Ino, licking icing off her fingertips. "_Screw_ the no-lipid rule, we'll go jogging after this or something." 

Ino wrinkled her nose. "Lipid?" she asked. "What are you, a biology teacher? Just say fat," she laughed, reaching over to pinch a section off of Sakura's cinnamon bun. Her eyes widened considerably. "Dear God, this is delicious," she mumbled, getting up. "Be right back."

Naruto laughed and leaned back in his chair, ripping off a third of one of his four doughnuts with his teeth.

Sakura took out her phone and checked the time. "It's like 8:45. We have that lecture at what, 10:00? Where's Sasuke?" she asked, taking a sip of VitaminWater. It was Essential today, orange-orange flavor.

She grimaced slightly. As delicious as it was (ALL VITAMINWATER WAS GOOD, DAMMIT!), if Essential hit the wrong taste buds, it had an uncanny resemblance to watery Sunny-D.

"The bastard's sick," Naruto said, shrugging. "I told him to stay in bed, and I'd bring him a tomato or something." He stretched his arms out and stood up. "Coffee refill…" he muttered, swiping his empty cup off the table and sauntering towards the coffee machines.

Ino licked her fingertips. "This cinnamon bun is going straight to my thighs," she complained, "…but I can't help it," she added, taking another piece of the sticky pastry and putting it in her mouth.

Sakura smiled. "I know right?" she agreed, wiping her fingers on a paper napkin. She looked at the remaining half of her cinnamon bun. "Do you want this Pig?" she asked, pushing her tray towards Ino.

The blonde eyed the pastry skeptically. "I thought you loved it. Why aren't you eating it?" she asked Sakura, azure eyes narrowing suspiciously. "Are you coming down with something, Forehead?"

Sakura shrugged, brushing some hair away from her forehead. "Nah, I'm just not that hungry today for some reason," she assured Ino. "I don't know why, but it just doesn't taste that great all of a sudden."

Ino sighed. "Well, give it to Naruto or something," she told Sakura. "Because it's just going to go straight to my thighs."

* * *

Snuggling comfortably into her seat in the psychology lecture hall, Sakura flipped open her phone and swiftly started composing a text message to Ino – she still had her calculator, and she needed it back before the Calculus lecture later that evening. Even though she was in the lecture hall, Ino and Naruto were at the opposite end of the room. Besides, class was starting already. 

Ibiki scanned the room with his quick eyes before counting out papers to give out. "Where's Uchiha?" he asked, ignoring some dreamy sighs that unwillingly escaped from their mouths.

"He's sick, Sir," Naruto informed his teacher. "He looked kinda really awful this morning, so I don't think he'll be coming in today."

("Ooh, I'm going to make him a care package!" a Sasuke fangirl whispered excitedly to her friend. Sakura laughed slightly.)

Ibiki nodded. "Alright then. Haruno, you're his partner, correct?"

Sakura nodded, hastily shoving her phone into her purse. "That's right, Sir," she told him, discreetly dropping her bag to the floor. (Ino sniggered on the other side of the room none-too-quietly.)

"Good. Take good notes and give Uchiha a copy tonight," he ordered her shortly. "Now, we're moving on today to psychology in ancient philosophy…"

* * *

It was kind of strange that Sakura barely spent any time in her own dorm. After all, she had scored a great single dorm – on the corner of the building too, meaning more closet space – with a personal toilet and sink. Her neighbors were relatively quiet and easy to get along with, and the room was decorated and cozy. 

Too bad she spent a minimal amount of time there.

Dropping off her belongings, Sakura decided to humor the idea of spending time in her dorm and sat down on her bed, turning on the light and pulling out a textbook.

It took her about three seconds to toss the history book aside and stand up.

Her reflection caught her as she reached into her closet to grab her coat. Yes, Sakura decided, it was time for an outfit change.

Bored of the white leggings and long, green and pink striped cowl-neck sweater she was wearing, she pulled off the cashmere sweater and switched it out for a heather gray jersey bubble skirt (leggings pulled to the knees of course) and fitted, three-quarter sleeved, pink, silk button up shirt.

Taking another VitaminWater out of her mini-fridge, she slipped her feet into metallic silver ballet pumps – kitten heeled – before heading out the door.

Locking her dorm, Sakura made sure she had her laptop, money, phone, ID, and iPod before walking away. After all, it'd be a shame if her (super cute) matching silver tote proved useless if she forgot something from her own carelessness.

Glancing at the clock in the hallway, Sakura contemplated the time. It was 8:00, but she had to give Sasuke the psychology notes before Ibiki had her head by the next lecture. The next class wasn't until the day after tomorrow, but they had that assignment due too, and Sasuke would definitely need more than just half a day to complete it on time…

She could always just barge into his room, if need be, to shake him out of his NyQuil-induced sleep if she had to anyway, Sakura decided. Naruto had an extra key.

Buttoning her black pea coat, Sakura headed briskly down the hallway. Sasuke's dorm building was at least a third of the way down campus – a good walk.

If she were lucky, she would be there by 8:10.

* * *

"Sasuke?" Sakura called quietly while knocking on his dorm door. "I know you're in there, open up." 

The door slowly creaked open, and Sakura was greeted by Sasuke, pale, hair even more unkempt than usual, and with a nose that was slightly flushed from being blown so much.

"Sakura," Sasuke croaked out with a curt nod. Sakura cursed inwardly. Even with a freaking cold, he still looked and sounded positively delicious. When she was ill, she sounded like a choking toad.

Sakura raised an eyebrow at his appearance. "You look…uh…yeah, I have psych. notes I have to give you, and an assignment," she told him, patting her bag.

Wordlessly, Sasuke shifted backwards, a signal for Sakura to enter.

The bed sheets were rumpled and his trashcan was overflowing with crumpled (snotty) tissues, but other than that, his dorm looked the same. For once in his life, Sasuke had forgone his usual VitaminWater to drink regular water instead.

Sitting at the foot of his bed, Sakura pulled out her MacBook, opening it up and sticking a flash drive into a USB port. "I'll transfer the notes for you, if you want, and the assignment is typed at the bottom too," she told Sasuke, who handed her his laptop as she spoke, "It's due the next class we have, so I wanted to give it to you earlier so you'd at least know about it."

Pulling out the flash drive, Sakura gently slid it into one of Sasuke's MacBook Pro's USB ports. With a few circles on the trackpad and a click, the files were transferred.

"Done," she informed Sasuke, who was watching her over her shoulder next to her on the bed. "You look awful," she said to him bluntly. "Are you taking anything for your cold?"

Sasuke shook his head. "I'll get over it," he informed her. "I'll just eat some apples and drink water."

Sakura laughed. "I don't think so. It might work, but that'll take forever," she said with a smirk. "Just take some NyQuil," she told him. "Makes you sleep like a baby too."

Shutting her laptop lid, she slid her computer back into her bag. "Well, I guess I'll be going," she said. "I'll see you later."

Sasuke nodded. "Thanks for the notes," he told her with a cough, opening the door for her to usher her out.

Sakura smiled faintly. "Anytime," she told him. "If you need anything, beat Naruto over the head with a textbook, and he'll probably do everything for you," she said to him seriously.

"Hn," Sasuke snorted, amused.

Sakura waved slightly. "Bye Sasuke. NyQuil!" she sang out. "Don't forget the NyQuilllll!"

"Aa," Sasuke scoffed quietly. "Right."

* * *

Sakura licked her lips as she scooped more of her cereal-yogurt parfait into her mouth. Tired of the usual breakfasts she ate, she had opted for mixing cereal (Honey Bunches of Oats to be exact) into strawberry yogurt to make a parfait of sorts. "This is really good," she told Ino with a grin. "You should try it sometime, Pig." 

Ino rolled her eyes. "You said that about the cinnamon buns yesterday, and I ended up eating three of them," Ino told Sakura crossly. "I'm never taking one of your food suggestions again, thanks."

"Have it your way," Sakura muttered, licking strawberry yogurt off of her spoon.

"Hn."

Everyone looked up as Sasuke pulled out his chair and sat down, setting his tray down on the table first. He had two slices of toast today, along with an apple. On a smaller plate next to it, there was a single, steaming cinnamon bun.

Ino's eyes widened. "No, not more…" she muttered, pushing her food away from her and shielding her eyes from Sasuke's plate.

"Are those fresh?" Sakura asked. "I'm _so_ getting one…" she stood up and practically skipped to the pastry bar.

She returned with a small plate with two on it. "I got one for you Ino," she cackled, tearing off a piece and eating it. "Wow," she said, green eyes shining. "These are _amazing_ today!"

"Gimme some," Ino demanded automatically, pulling a chunk off of the other pastry. "These taste exactly the same, Forehead," she told Sakura after a few moments of critical chewing.

Sakura shrugged. "They just taste better for some reason," she said, nibbling on a bit of cinnamon bun. She caught Sasuke's eye. "Try yours," she told him with a smile.

Ino smirked to herself, taking the rest of her swirl-shaped pastry off of Sakura's plate. She knew why Sakura was so happy this morning.

Sasuke took a bite of his cinnamon bun and promptly washed it down with his VitaminWater (defense, raspberry-apple). "It's too sweet. Eat it," he told Naruto, handing the plate to him.

The blond boy accepted the plate happily. "You look better bastard," Naruto commented. "What did you do?"

"NyQuil."

* * *

Ahh, that chapter was a little rough… 

**NEWS:** I've started a **LiveJournal** for fanfiction. Included: learn about my (exclusive. not.) life, story updates, inspiration, question and answers, personal thoughts, etc. Linkeage is available in the profile. Comment and be my friend, even though I have no idea what the hell I'm doing, hahaha. Check ittt. :D

Review. (:


	8. 07: Vital T

**Vitamin**Water Fact Number 8: YES, I think 50 Cent's biggest accomplishment was getting his own flavor of **Vitamin**Water (Formula 50). What now?

* * *

_Like__**Vitamin**__Water_  
x. by ANGELforSHOW

**Chapter Seven**: Vital-T.  
**Purpose**: More Vitality.

* * *

-

When Sakura walked into her psychology lecture a few days later, a box of chocolates and a tin of hot cocoa mix was forcefully stuffed into her arms, nearly toppling her over.

"Um, thanks?" she asked, sitting down next to Sasuke and examining the gifts he had so hastily shoved into her arms. "What are these for?" she asked, examining the chocolates. Godiva, she approved. Good stuff.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "Care basket from last week," he told her, bored. "I hate sweets," he explained in his velvet-like tenor voice.

Sakura laughed, licking her lips as she opened the box. "I can't believe you can say no to Belgium truffles," she commented, quickly selecting a dark chocolate sweet and nibbling a bit off of it. "'Cause these are freaking delicious."

He didn't respond, opting for a sip out of his usual VitaminWater instead (Multi-V, lemonade).

"Your loss," Sakura told him in a not-so-sorry voice. "I mean, you can totally miss out on this lovely, _lovely_…"

Sasuke arched his back, popping a few vertebrae.

"…LOVELY, LOVELY…"

MacBook Pro…where was it? Sasuke fished around his seat, wondering where he put his laptop bag. Oh, there it was.

"…cocoa delicacy."

He emptied his VitaminWater bottle, tipping the bottle so far it rested on his nose for a brief moment. Crap, he didn't have any more bottles with him either.

Pouting green eyes stared at him. "…sighhhh, what a letdown that one could not appreciate this fabulous gift…"

Sasuke spared Sakura a dry look before pushing the power button on his computer. The Mac flickered to life with a holy-sounding "Piiing!"

"…It's such a SHAME though…only an idiot would say no to something like this…"

His brow twitched. Idiot?

"…Hell, even **Naruto** has enough sense to take one of this _wonderful_ chocolates…"

Sasuke's hand reached out and snatched a truffle out of the open box sitting in Sakura's lap. Taking a bite out of it, he was pleased to see that he abhorred sweets _even more_ now.

Sakura laughed slightly. "Aren't they great?" she asked, popping the rest of her chocolate into her mouth. There was a creamy dark chocolate whip inside of hers – deliciousss.

"Shut up, Sakura," Sasuke told her. He reached down into his bag where his VitaminWater was –

– to find that he had just drank it all before. "I hate sweets," he muttered to himself darkly, digging through his bookbag for a drink "**Fuck**," he cursed darkly, flipping between the books.

Sakura snorted. As _if_ there'd be a drink between his notebooks.

Dropping his messenger bag to the floor in defeat, Sasuke's brow furrowed as he sank lower into his seat, arms crossed, half finished chocolate pinched between two fingers.

Sakura almost laughed out loud. He was actually _pouting_. In a twisted, Sasuke-y way, that is.

"Here."

Sasuke's ink colored eyes looked up at his shoulder. A half-drunken Rescue (green tea flavored) was dangling by his head. Reaching up slowly, he accepted it.

"Thanks…" he told her quietly, unscrewing the cap slowly to see if Sakura would protest about him sharing her drink with him. Sakura wouldn't mind. She shared everything with everyone. Tea with Ino, cookies with Naruto. Why would it be different with him?

Sakura grinned at him, ignoring Ibiki who was making his way up to the front of his classroom to begin his lecture.

"No problem," Sakura told him with an amicable smile.

Her grin turned wicked. "But really. What kind of pansy can't even eat a _chocolate_?" she asked, cackling. "I mean really they aren't harm – oof!"

Sasuke had thrown her VitaminWater back at her, hitting her square in the stomach. "Shut UP, Sakura."

* * *

Sakura coughed into her napkin for the umpteenth time, blinking away watery tears that had formed during her coughing fit.

"Shit, Sakura, what's gotten you?" Ino asked, leaning away from her friend as she coughed her lungs out. _She_ couldn't afford getting sick, after all.

"I dunno," Sakura rasped out through her stuffy nose. "I guess it's time to start wearing a thicker coat?" she asked, coughing again.

Naruto peered at her skeptically. "Y'know, somehow, I don't think that's gonna help," he drawled out sincerely. "I think you should go see a doctor or something, Sakura." He stabbed a ravioli out of the bowl sitting in front of him, popping it into his mouth.

"Or use NyQuil," Sasuke added on dryly, contributing to the conversation for once.

Sakura wrinkled her nose. "I don't think I need to do that yet," she told her friends, unwrapping her scarf and wrapping it around her neck even tighter. She pushed away her tray. Her stomach was starting to do flips and somersaults inside of her abdomen – not from being nervous or anxious either.

She slid further down into her chair, sagging against the armrests tiredly. Gently, she massaged her head slightly with cold fingertips. She only had a chemistry lecture later today…she could make it through that at least. She closed her eyes as she rested her forehead against her cool fingers. Only one more class…

--

Naruto glanced at Sakura while he was finishing up his lunch. "Sakura's asleep, right?" he asked, biting into a particularly well-stuffed ravioli. Cheese trailed from his fork to his mouth as he tried to suck all of the gooey mozzarella into his mouth.

Ino turned her head. Sakura was indeed slumped down in her chair. "I wonder what's gotten her," she muttered as she reached over to touch Sakura's forehead. "Oh, fuck!" she instantly jerked her hand away. "Her fever's really high," she said to Naruto and Sasuke's questioning looks.

"We should get her into bed," Naruto suggested, grabbing his tray and standing up. He tossed the tray out and was back in a heartbeat. He put on his bookbag (tangerine orange, just like his personality), pulling his single-strapped backpack across his chest hurriedly. Naruto moved to start picking up Sakura when –

"Ew, Naruto, don't touch her, you have meat sauce all over your hands," Ino interrupted, waving Naruto's hands away from Sakura. "Take her stuff instead. Sasuke…can you take Sakura?"

Sasuke gave Ino a dull look before standing up slowly, pocketing his Blackberry and putting on his messenger bag. Carefully, he scooped Sakura out of her chair. Heat from her fever was clearly felt, even through her coat.

"Who doesn't have classes for the rest of today?" Ino asked as they set off to Sakura's dorm. "I think someone should watch over her, or at least check on her."

Naruto shook his head, cerulean eyes apologetic. "I have a poli-sci class in an hour," he told Ino with a sigh. "What about you?"

"That's why I'm asking you guys," Ino replied. "I have biology in forty-five minutes."

The two blonds turned to the last (conscious) member of their group. "Sasuke…?"

The Uchiha nodded, "It's fine, I'll do it," he told them in a soft voice, not wanting to wake the sleeping girl in his arms.

"You don't have a class?" Naruto asked him, puzzled. "I coulda sworn you did…" he trailed off, shrugging it away. "Whatever."

Sasuke shook his head. "I don't have a class," he told them. "Come on."

--

"We'll just come back here whenever our classes are done, okay?" Ino said to Sasuke, tucking the corners of Sakura's blanket in before swinging her bags over her arm. "If anything's wrong, call us," she prattled on, much like the worried mother Sakura never had. She gave Sakura one last worried look before exiting the small dorm.

Naruto nodded, "See you later bastard," he told Sasuke cheerfully before following Ino out through the door.

Sasuke "Hn."'ed in response and shut the door after them before sitting down on the floor, back against the wall so he was facing Sakura.

He pulled out his laptop. It was probably best to start composing an e-mail to Hyuuga Neji, a boy in his financing class.

Perhaps he would e-mail him the notes he would be missing during today's lecture…the lecture that started about twenty minutes ago.

* * *

"Is she still not better?" Naruto asked the next day at breakfast when he saw Ino enter the cafeteria alone.

Ino sighed and pulled out her chair, slumping down into it. "Yeah, she was basically vomiting her guts out all last night," she informed her two tablemates dryly.

Naruto flinched outwardly in response to Ino's comment. Sasuke however, being Sasuke, showed no reaction at all, taking a satisfying bite out of his buttered toast.

"What's her fever right now?" Naruto asked through a mouth of Lucky Charms.

"101.4," Ino sighed miserably. "I wonder what got her sick," she wondered, sipping at the espresso she had clutched in her hands. "Her throat is really irritated – I swear I saw spots on it – and she's been blowing her nose a lot."

Naruto ate a red balloon marshmallow and dug his spoon around his bowl, chasing a rainbow and a shooting star around in the milk. "Not to mention she has a fever and she's throwing up."

Sasuke took out his VitaminWater and cracked open his brand new bottle. Vital-T – Lemon Tea flavor.

Ino eyed the bottle with distaste. "I bet that's what got her sick," she muttered with an eye roll. "I locked her fridge, so she can't drink any until she gets better."

"No such thing as bad VitaminWater," Sasuke interjected monotonously.

Naruto froze. "Y'know Sakura's sickness sounds a lot like what Sasuke-bastard had," he said slowly. "I wonder…"

Sasuke blinked, remembering the chocolate incident from a few days ago. And how he had some of her VitaminWater. And how he was probably still contagious when he had drank after her. And then given the bottle back. "…Hn."

Which in Sasukenese totally meant "Oops."

* * *

"Our final exam is coming up in a few weeks. I want you and your partner to spend the rest of today reviewing while I grade," Ibiki told his freshman psychology class shortly after the completion of his lecture. "Go."

Sasuke scowled as he realized he was partner less. Dammit Sakura, he thought, opening up Microsoft Word on his MacBook and scrolling through months of notes.

"Uchiha."

Sasuke's head snapped up from his screen to his teacher. "Yes sir?" he asked politely as he stared at one of Ibiki's face scars. He hated making eye contact.

Ibiki looked down at Sasuke indifferently. "Where's Haruno?" he asked.

"She's sick."

Ibiki shrugged slightly. "Make sure she gets today's notes, and tell her that our final is soon," he told Sasuke, before turning his heel to walk back towards his desk.

"Someone take Uchiha into their group so he's not straggling," he called out, black coat swishing around his knees as he strode back to his desk.

Several groups of girls squealed, and began to bicker about who would get Sasuke in their group.

Sasuke decided to take the safe way out and go sit with Naruto and Ino…

…only to get stuck listening to their plans about attending the latest "hot" party this Friday night.

Honestly. Getting intoxicated so often was obviously not healthy.

He slid further down into his chair before opening his textbook to flip mindlessly through the pages.

Class sure sucked today.

* * *

Sakura struggled to sit up in her bed as she awoke again for the third time. She had been sleeping for the past two days, but she still felt like shit.

Blowing her nose into a tissue, she tossed the crumpled napkin to the growing pile in her trashcan.

A pale hand reached out from underneath her warm blankets to the nightstand, reaching for the glass of water Ino had kindly left on the small table. She scowled as she sipped at it, pink lips twisting into a pout. Ino had forbade her from drinking any VitaminWater until she was over her cold slash fever slash whatever-it-was, taking the liberty to padlock her fridge.

Sakura set the glass down, her hands automatically reaching for a lock of hair for her tug at in irritation – until she realized her pink tresses were all tied up into an angry knot at the top of her head.

She was well aware that the knot was probably not a fashionable bun either, and most likely a literal giant knot.

She sneezed.

Life sucked.

--

A light knock on her door woke Sakura up a fourth time, right after she had fallen into a fitful sleep.

Sliding her feet into slippers, Sakura slumped slowly to the door. Opening it up, she found no one there. Except for a strange basket on the floor.

She dragged it inside, examining the contents as she crawled back in bed, one arm picking at the package on the floor. Sakura smiled.

Chocolates, oranges, tomatoes, and several bottles of VitaminWater sat inside of the woven basket, cheerfully waiting for her. A tiny bottle of NyQuil was tucked in between a XXX and a Defense. _Pour vous_, the tag on the basket said in a familiar scrawl, neat and professional.

And suddenly, life just got better.

* * *

Naruto, Sasuke, Ino, and Sakura had a designated breakfast time – 8:30, everyday. If you weren't there by 8:35 (Ino was usually tardy), you probably weren't going to show up at all.

So naturally, it took the first three by quite a surprise when Sakura managed to drag herself into the cafeteria at 8:45 the next morning.

"Do you feel better?" Ino asked in astonishment as she popped a grape into her mouth.

Sakura smiled. "Nope, I still feel like shit," she informed her friends cheerfully. "But I figured I'd try to make it to psych. today. We have that final soon, after all."

Naruto laughed. "Ibiki's class isn't worth it," he told Sakura. "It really isn't."

Sakura shrugged. "I still don't want to miss it," she said airily. "Oh, and Ino?"

"Mm?"

"Unlock my fridge."

* * *

"I don't think I remember a single thing about the philosophers," Sakura told Sasuke as they flipped through their textbooks during psychology class. "Hmm, this could be potentially bad, wouldn't you say?"

Sasuke snorted softly. "Probably."

They sat there quietly, both slid way down in their plastic seats, knees propped up against the backs of the chairs in front of them.

Sasuke glanced at his psych partner. She was there, green eyes wide, absorbing knowledge. She was there, chewing on the eraser of her pencil. She was there, cherry colored locks in chin-length waves because she didn't feel like straightening her hair this morning. She was there.

And suddenly, psychology class got a whole lot better.

* * *

Sorry about the delay. Lost my muse for a bit.  
This chapter was definitely not to the best of my ability. I'm sorry, the next one will be better, I promise.

Remember to check the LiveJournal for info on life, updates, and stuff.

Review. (:


	9. 08: Energy

**Vitamin**Water Fact Number 9: The only **Vitamin**Water I recommend to be served on ice (if ever) is b-relaxed. Keep that in mind, harharhar.

**BONUS: **Dedication for Sayonara Solitaire. Happy birthday, Kat! -heart-

* * *

_Like__**Vitamin**__Water_  
x. by ANGELforSHOW

**Chapter Eight**: Energy.  
**Purpose**: Immediate energy.

* * *

- 

If there was one thing in the world Sakura could be proud of, it was her teeth.

No, not her hair. No, not her eyes. No, not her body. Not even her brain. Her _teeth_.

Sure, tickle-me pink hair was interesting. Sakura loved her hair. She loved everything about it, from its unique pastel shade to how when she woke up in the morning, all she really had to do was comb it, because it came in what Ino said was the form of "natural summer waves". She loved how it could curl or be straightened, and how it wasn't too thick or too thin. She adored how soft it was after a fresh conditioning.

Her eyes were nice too, Sakura thought. They were green. Pure, unadulterated, essence of_ green_. Emerald, jade, grass, mint, sage – green. Blue was pretty, she had to admit, and black was appealing on the right people, but she loved how vivid and lively the color green seemed to be. Yes, her eye color was something to be proud of as well.

Sakura knew she was slender. She worked out four times a week at the gym, and she had been relatively active during high school. She knew she was intelligent too. She studied at least once every other day, and she got the good marks to prove it.

Strangely enough though, Sakura knew that her teeth were her best quality.

Her teeth: straight, white, rounded-off squares that gleamed happily with every movement of her lips. She suffered through two and a half years of braces for them, and had then paid (with her own money) for a box of whitening strips. It was this smile that had won her Homecoming Queen, and the smile that had gotten her into the Prom Court. Hell, she was sure her teeth had even played some part in her getting into university.

In short, Sakura loved her teeth.

And in return, she loved to smile.

* * *

Ibiki circled his room hawkishly while his class took a short quiz, passing each student with a short scoff. Sakura crinkled her nose as Ibiki walked-and-scoffed past her. His slight sneer was the sort that you never knew if it was good or not. On one hand, he could be laughing at her, but on the other hand, he could've been making some sort of noise of approval. 

Either way, the fact that she had _just_ written down the answer to number 19 (an answer in which she totally, utterly guessed on) when Ibiki had made his walk-and-scoff past her was _totally _irritating.

Rolling her eyes, Sakura quickly read the final question on the packet lying flat on her desk, skimming the answers before choosing the (obviously) correct letter.

Setting her pen down, Ibiki swooped down over her desk to snatch her paper off her desk. Two red slashes and a number later, he dropped the paper back down to Sakura.

Dully, Sakura flipped over her quiz and looked at the score. 90. A respectable score, but nothing to scream over. She sighed.

Life was _so _boring.

* * *

The cafeteria's dinner sucked today. 

Sakura settled on a plate of french fries after sliding her tray past some limp, browning vegetables, burnt dinner rolls, and decidedly _green_ macaroni and cheese.

"Life totally bites right now," she drawled out to Ino, who was just about to take her seast.

Ino pursed her lips. "I know, right?" she asked as she sat down next to Sakura, settling down in her seat with a large bowl of ice cream. Ino twisted the end of one of her French braided pigtails between her fingers. "Life is just so…" she trailed off, still playing with her flax colored braids.

"Boring?" Sasuke contributed dryly, overhearing their conversation as he approached the table, dropping his stuff on the floor and sitting down with an unenthusiastic plate of tomato slices and fries.

Naruto pulled out his chair with a noisy screech. "I don't know what you guys are talking about!" he answered his three friends brightly, stabbing a spork into his green macaroni. He stuck the plastic utensil into his mouth and took a thoughtful bite of molding pasta. The green elbow pasta was out of his mouth and back onto the plate within milliseconds – was that _fur_ he had just attempted to eat?

"Ew, Naruto," Sakura said in response to Naruto's pasta-spew. She was looking slightly green herself, her stomach feeling as if it had dropped three feet under.

Ino shielded and averted her eyes as Sasuke took a napkin and dropped it on top of Naruto tray.

"Shitty dinner aside, how did everyone do on their psych quiz?" Ino asked cheerily as she scooped some rainbow sprinkles into her mouth.

"90."

"98."

"76!"

"Ouch," Sakura offered to Naruto when she heard his score. A 76 was kind of rough when it came to grades.

"What?" Naruto asked, crestfallen. "I thought I did pretty good!"

Sasuke rolled his eyes.

"ANYWAY," Sakura announced loudly. "What we're trying to say is that life sucks, yeah?" she pointed out to her friends with a shrug. She wrapped her teal cardigan around herself a bit tighter while she straightened out the polka-dotted tank top underneath.

"Mhm," Ino agreed with a sigh. She pushed her bowl of ice cream away. "This is so depressing. I need a party."

"Amen to that!" Naruto exclaimed. "Is there anyone having a party tonight? It's Friday. There HAS to be a frat party or something going on…" he pulled out his phone and started scrolling through his text messages. "Need alcohollllll," he mumbled to himself.

Sakura rolled her eyes.

"What time is it?" Naruto asked while he sifted through his messages.

"7:30," Ino supplied quickly. "Why? Do you have something?" she asked eagerly.

"YES," Naruto answered excitedly. "Kiba's having a get together tonight at 7:00. LET'S GO!"

Ino nodded in approval. "Kiba has the best spiked punch, definitely. And the Sex On the Beach I had before that he made was _godly_," she cooed.

"Hmm, I like the Sex On the Beach With Sand In Your Crack, personally," Naruto agreed with an impish grin. "That was ungodly delicious."

_**(Isabel's Alcohol Lesson;**  
Sex On the Beach Vodka, Peach Schnapps, Orange Juice and Cranberry Juice.  
SOtBwSiYC Same thing, except with six fresh raspberries added to the mix.)_

"I do believe we have to attend this party," Ino said to Naruto cordially. "Shall we go get smashed?" she asked him, gathering up her bags. Her blue eyes twinkled with anticipation as she picked up her purse.

Naruto stood up as well, "We shall," he replied with a blinding smile. "LET'S GO!"

They practically ran off, pushing in front of each other to get to Kiba's dorm.

"They're dumb," Sakura said bluntly as she chewed on another french fry. Sasuke grunted in agreement, shoving another tomato slice in his mouth. "So, what are you doing now?" Sakura asked him as she twirled a fry in ketchup.

"I don't know," Sasuke responded with a shrug. "You?" he asked out of courtesy.

"I don't know either," Sakura groaned, pulling at her face and stretching her skin downwards. "Life is so boringggggg."

Sasuke stood up, picking up his bookbag and tray. "Going on a walk," he told Sakura's inquisitve look.

"Ah," she answered, picking up her VitaminWater (Energy, tropical citrus flavored). She took a slow sip of the yellow liquid.

Sasuke was still there. "Yeah?" she asked carefully.

"Aren't you coming?" Sasuke asked monotonously. He had, after all, grown fond of her whining, VitaminWater drinking self.

A hesitant smile bloomed on Sakura's face. "Yeah," she answered. "I'm coming."

* * *

Their breaths came out in small puffs of fog while they exhaled. 

"I can't believe winter is gonna be here soon," Sakura commented as she pulled her coat even tighter around herself. Even though it was only the beginning of November, the wind chill was becoming unbearable, the icy air finding a way to soak through her skinny jeans and creep inside of her pea coat.

"Aa," Sasuke replied nodding. "The semester will be finished soon as well."

Sakura's eyes widened with this realization – she was almost complete with her first semester of college ever. "…I feel so old," she giggled slightly, while shoving her hands deeper inside of her pockets.

Another gust of freezing wind blew through the air, wrapping itself around the two while they struggled to move forward. It seemed as if Sakura and Sasuke were the only two pedestrians wandering campus – everyone else was smart enough to be staying indoors and drinking soup (or something of the like).

"This is ridiculous…" Sasuke muttered to himself when another bought of icy wind attacked them head on. He grabbed Sakura's arm and dragged her to the left, barging into a small ice cream shop quite unceremoniously.

"Welcome to Konoha Kreamery, would you like to order?" a voice from behind the ice cream counter chirped to them happily. Sasuke regarded the girl with contempt ("Tenten" her nametag read in bubbly letters).

He hated ice cream, but it would've been quite rude to just sit at one of the tiny café tables to wait out the windstorm. So…he opted for the next best thing: to push the bother onto Sakura. Duh.

"Sakura, what do you want?" he murmured to her as he tried to scan the menu for something that wasn't cold and sugary.

It was a good thing Sakura loved sweets. "Hmm, I'll have one scoop of cookie dough and one scoop of mint chocolate chip in a waffle cone," she told Tenten with a smile.  
With sprinkles. And hot fudge. And whipped cream too!" she laughed out. "Um, please." She moved to begin digging inside of her handbag. Where _was_ that wallet of hers…?

Sasuke grabbed her hand before it could even touch the zipper of her purse. "Don't worry about it," he told her without taking his eyes off the menu. Everything seemed to be sweet and frozen at this stupid (ice cream) shop, he realized miserably.

Tenten returned with a hulking cone of ice cream, handing it to Sakura carefully after she weighed it. "And for you?" she asked Sasuke.

"One scoop of vanilla in a small cup," he answered finally. Vanilla definitely wasn't as bad as some of the other flavors could have been, Sasuke reasoned.

After receiving his cup of ice cream (with distaste, mind you), Sasuke paid – ignoring Sakura's protest, seeing how her ice cream cone had made up three quarters of the bill – quickly and sat down at the closest café table with Sakura.

"This is delicious. I can't believe you don't like ice cream," Sakura commented with a laugh. "You're such a freak, Sasuke," she said while she licked a trail of hot fudge that was coming too close to her thumb.

"Hn," Sasuke answered skeptically. "Isn't it too cold for ice cream anyway?" he asked her as he took minuscule bites of his vanilla scoop.

Sakura shook her head. "Of course not. I might not be able to feel my nose, but it's_never_ too cold for ice cream," she answered him seriously while chewing on a cookie dough lump. "…and I'm serious about the not feeling my nose part. Really," she added on as an afterthought.

Sasuke gave a small noise of amusement. "Obviously you can't feel your nose," he told her, taking another delicate spoonful of ice cream.

"What do you mean?" Sakura asked airily, clearly not paying attention as she licked away at her ice cream, nibbling at bit at the waffle cone.

Sasuke reached over the table slowly and dragged his index finger across the tip of her nose. "You have whipped cream on your nose," he said to her, holding up his fingertip, covered with a small dab of white cream.

Sakura was about to wave it off when she caught sight of something else white. White, behind pink lips with slightly – just slightly – upturned corners.

Sasuke was smiling.

(And he _totally_ had a dimple by the right corner of his mouth. Barely noticeable, but unbearably cute.)

She also noticed that she had been staring at his mouth for the past 30 seconds.

Sakura attempted to laugh her flush of embarrassment off – only to fail miserably, as expected.

But that was alright. Because life was giving her small bursts of excitement with every coming week. Because she had a full store of VitaminWater in her minifridge. Because she was spending time with Sasuke on a Friday night when they could have easily been partying. Because life was good.

And because Sasuke may have had nicer teeth than she did. Sakura was thoroughly impressed.

Because life was good.

* * *

The past few weeks have been so dumb. I guess fanfiction has kind of fallen onto the back burner. Pre-calc and AP Euro come first, I suppose. That, and I've been reading manga like a mad man, hahaha. 

Review. (:


	10. 09: b relaxed

**Vitamin**Water Fact Number 10: **Vitamin**Water isn't as fun when that dumb girl who sits next to you in French drinks it too.

* * *

_Like __**Vitamin**__Water_  
x. by ANGELforSHOW

**Chapter Nine**: b-relaxed.  
**Purpose**: Relaxation.

* * *

x.

It was a common known fact that Ino and Naruto were some of the biggest partiers of the freshman class. This was quite impressive in a twisted sort of way; the freshman class was pretty freaking large.

Ino favored mixed drinks – usually fruity, with a delicate balance of flavor. Maybe with a touch of ice, but definitely with as much Grey Goose as the blend could allow.

Naruto, on the other hand, was a smack down whiskey and rum kind of guy. Captain Morgan was his idol, and the Coca Cola Company was his wife. Rum and Sprite – that was the way to go.

Despite the two blonds' controversy over their preferred alcoholic beverage, they still had one thing in common when it came to partying – both of them enjoyed what they called the DAMN process: **D**ance, **A**lcohol, **M**ake Out, and **N**icotine.

They were sinners, but they loved it. It wasn't about being blond – Ino and Naruto just knew how to have fun. Take Kiba for example – he was a brunette and he did even more than the two. Kiba followed the DAMPEN process: Dance, Alcohol, Make Out, Pot, Ecstasy, and Nicotine.

It wasn't exactly healthy, but he made it work. Besides, it was only on the weekend that DAMN turned into DAMPEN. Sometimes.

The most important characteristics of all three of the students, however, were that they all knew how to let loose, have fun, and be a little daring.

Qualities, Ino thought, that a certain Uchiha Sasuke and Haruno Sakura needed to acquire.

* * *

_**Memorandum.**_

_Dear Student:_

_Due to the impending hurricane, classes will be canceled today, November 3__rd_

_Students are reminded that in the case of severe inclement weather, the storm shelter shall be used as a refuge. Students should remain stationary in one area to avoid contact with the storm. In case of dire need to travel into town, students should try to return quickly._

_Students are also reminded to stay warm and dry._

_Regards,  
Tsunade  
Dean of Safety_

* * *

"YEEESSSSSssSsssssssssss," Naruto hissed out when he read Tsunade's e-mail on his iPhone. "This is awesome!" he waved his phone in front of Sasuke's face, "Did ya see thi – oh, shit," his face sobered dramatically as he dropped his cell phone, leaving him to pick his wounded phone out of a greasy bed of sausages. Sausages courtesy of the breakfast tray located at scenic Naruto's table space.

Sakura snorted. That was totally disgusting.

Sasuke slapped Naruto's wriggling hand away from his head. "Yes, shut up," he told him shortly, holding up his Blackberry with a completely blank expression.

"Honestly, Naruto, you should be more careful with your stuff," Sakura mumbled as she checked her own e-mail on her MacBook. "I guess this means no English lecture," she said with a toothy grin. "Shaaaaaaaame."

Ino laughed and took a sip of her grapefruit juice. "So what should we do today?" she asked her tablemates as she leaned back in her chair. "We have the entire day to ourselves," she squealed out as she stretched her arms.

"Well, Tsunade said to stay put and stay indoors," Sakura replied dubiously, "So we can just chill in the common room, I guess."

Sasuke shrugged. He really didn't care either way. As long as the two crazy blondes (the pink-haired one wasn't as bad) didn't make him stand out in the rain, he wouldn't mind.

"Let's go into town!" Ino chirped brightly, biting into an orange slice she had on her tray. "That should be fun."

"But Tsunade said not to go into town unless it was for a "dire need"," Sakura reminded Ino with a slight frown. She reached into her bag for her VitaminWater. The b-relaxed was rolling around somewhere inside…her…

"_**I'm out of VitaminWater?!**_" Sakura shrieked in horror, heaving her tote up into her lap, pawing through her belongings. One by one, she tossed items that were in the way onto the table. Tubes of mascara rolled towards Sasuke, while a wayward EnV phone slid to Ino's side of the table. Keys were tossed literally at Naruto's face.

Almost as quickly as they appeared, Sakura's pale arm shot out and gathered up her belongings. "Guess what, we're going into town today!" Sakura informed her friends with a slightly maniacal smile.

"What happened to "dire need"," Sasuke asked her dryly.

"It _is_ a dire need!" Sakura snapped at him with a glare, as she shoved a makeup bag (Lesportsac) into her purse.

Ino cheered slightly. "We can go look at shoes too!"

* * *

The minute Sasuke stepped outside to meet his friends (they had agreed to meet at the front entrance in an hour) he regretted it.

To sum it up, the weather was cold, damp, and unpleasant. The trees, which had all shed their leaves weeks before, were jagged and bare. Their leaves were lying in the browning grass, soggy from the sporadic rain that kept passing through. The sky was completely grey, covered with a layer of thick clouds.

It was _miserable_, to say the least.

At least he had had the foresight to dress in preparation for the weather – he had worn jeans for once and he had worn several layers: a polo (navy blue, Abercrombie), a sweatshirt (Vans, from the Warped Tour), and a Northface jacket (sharp, black, slim fit, and with a turtleneck).

Naruto, on the other hand, was not as lucky. Sasuke could spot Naruto's blazingly light hair clearly even when he was a good 200 yards away. It seemed as if Naruto had thought jeans and a sweatshirt were enough.

"Hey Sasuke," Ino greeted him with a quick smile. She stood still for a moment to dig around inside of her purse, looking for gloves.

"Hn," Sasuke acknowledged her with a friendly grunt.

"Pig, you're so dumb. Why did you wear that today of all days?" Sakura asked as she approached them, her hands shoved inside the pockets of her knee-length brown pea coat. It was fitted from the waist up, the bottom part flowing just enough to offer maximum movement and top-notch warmth.

Ino glared at her with ice blue eyes. "I thought it was cute," she sniffed, before pulling a white glove onto her left hand.

Sakura rolled her eyes, "It is cute, but you're going to freeze," she told Ino flatly. Sakura had came prepared for the inclement weather – a nice, long coat over her usual skinny jeans (extra dark wash this time – perhaps they would absorb extra heat) with a blouse and cardigan on beneath her coat.

Ino on the other hand, was not as prepared. Her outfit was adorable, but shimmery black leggings with white eyelet miniskirts simply weren't rainproof, and neither were black blouses with teal corduroy blazers. Her sand colored Ugg boots had been a good choice though, Sakura observed dryly.

"Let's go!" Naruto said to his friends cheerfully when he reached their small gathering.

The college campus was located right on the outskirts of the city – after a five-minute walk, the four were already strolling inside the large metropolis.

The large city seemed to be deserted. The anticipated hurricane must have been scaring everyone inside. Even the hobo count seemed lower, Sakura noted sarcastically as she walked alongside Ino down the grimy sidewalk.

Ino alternated between shivering and glaring at every seated hobo who "accidentally" looked up her skirt. "We should stop at a coat store," she suggested to her friends miserably.

Sakura resisted the urge to tell her "I told you so!" with a childish smirk.

* * *

The first hour in the city was spent meandering. Once the four had traveled a bit further into the city, they began to see more and more people littering the streets. The amount of life outside was still scarce though – barely a taxi was in sight.

Window-shopping was a must for Sakura and Ino. The two had gone through block after block of stores, but they both had managed to not buy a single thing at all.

"What's the point of shopping if you aren't going to buy anything?" Naruto grumbled as he and Sasuke followed the pair from store to store. He took a frustrated swig of his coffee, waiting impatiently for Ino and Sakura to stop admiring a pair of particularly hideous boots.

Sasuke shrugged. He leaned casually against the glass window display, hands in his pockets. A strong gust of wind swept its way through the streets. Sasuke decided to zip up his jacket all the way, while Ino nearly cried from the cold.

Sakura shook her head. "Ino, buy a jacket or something," she advised her friend, pulling a scarf out of her purse and handing it to the blonde. Ino thanked her gratefully, tightly wrapping the cashmere scarf around her neck twice.

Ino sighed and nodded in resignation, "Let's go to Bloomingdale's," she croaked out, rubbing her arms quickly to generate a miniscule amount of heat. "There's one the next street over."

The four set off at a brisk walk. Sakura and Sasuke led the way, while Naruto shoved his hot coffee into Ino's hands, telling her to drink it.

After jaywalking through the street (psh, waiting at crosswalks was so overrated anyway), the group ducked into Bloomingdales for a brief stopover. Ino speed-walked gratefully to the women's section.

"Ino, go get your stuff, we'll wait here," Naruto said, sinking into one of the cushy chairs in the Bloomingdale's front entrance. Sasuke followed suit, taking the free moment to check his phone. Sakura excused herself to the ladies room, intent on fixing up her windswept hair.

Skillfully, Ino marched straight to the denim department, finding her size in True Religion skinny jeans. Then, nearly just as quickly, she flew through to the Burberry retailer, grabbing the classic Burberry coat. Approaching the register triumphantly, Ino threw down her newest clothing articles.

"Your total is 1,184 dollars and 32 cents," a bored cashier informed Ino. Ino handed her a credit card. "Visa? Alright…" the cashier mumbled monotonously, swiping the card and tapping a few buttons on her computer's touch-screen.

After scribbling her name on the receipt and asking for a pair of scissors to chop the price tags off her clothes, Ino strode into the restroom purposefully. Locking herself into a stall, she pulled on her new jeans straight over her leggings, discarding her skirt in her tote bag for later. Stuffing her jean-covered calves back into her boots, Ino squirmed into her new beige coat happily before folding up her Big Brown Bag and dropping it in her tote as well.

"Hey Sakura," Ino laughed as she approached the mirror, noticing her best friend attempting to work a brush through her tangled pink hair.

"Mmm," Sakura answered, intent on getting that _gigantic_ knot out of her Tickle Me Pink colored locks. "Nice coat," she muttered to Ino, as she flung down the hairbrush, attempting to rip the knot apart by hand.

Ino flashed a brief Crest Whitestrip smile before she dug out her makeup bag, touching up parts of her eyeliner that had smudged away. "Thanks!"

The two rejoined Naruto and Sasuke after another 10 minutes. Sakura had finally ripped the knot out and had scraped her hair into a professional looking French braid, sidebangs left out of course.

Ino led the way out of the large department store. Jauntily pushing through the revolving door. Once again, they settled in the usual formation. Sakura and Sasuke led the way, while Naruto and Ino argued in the back.

"You guys totally owe us a meal, by the way," Naruto slipped into the conversation casually once they had started moving.

Sasuke gave him a skeptical look. "Since when?" he asked, rolling his eyes. Sakura also turned to stare at Naruto. Spending 200 dollars on one meal just because Naruto was a royal pig was not her ideal way of spending her free day.

Naruto grinned impishly. "That study session from way back. You lost to us in trashcan basketball, so you promised to buy us a meal," he explained.

"He's right," Ino chimed in, while pulling her hair out of her ponytail. Perhaps a curtain of hair would help keep her warmer.

"I think we'd like to use that free meal pass now, if you don't mind," Naruto told Sasuke cordially. "Y'know, on account that it's cold as fuck out here."

Sakura sighed, "It is getting close to 1:00," she admitted miserably. "I guess lunch would be a good idea." Her apple colored eyes scanned the street for a restaurant of some sort. There was a Starbucks and a McDonalds, but no actual sit-in-and-have-something-that's-not-deep-fried bistros were on the block.

"I want to go to a sushi bar. That has ramen and soba and udon and PASTA," Naruto informed Sakura and Sasuke. "What about you Ino?" he asked pleasantly, craning his neck to see if he could spot other restaurants.

"That sounds good. And then we can go to Starbucks, because I'm _dying_ for a latte," Ino agreed, eyeing the Starbucks they were passing.

Sasuke remained as stoic as ever, while Sakura flat-out blanched. Sushi was expensive as it was, and all-you-can-eat sushi buffets were even pricier. Especially since it wasn't exactly prime fish season – the salmon and tuna were bound to be a bit more costly. And _especially_ since they were in a city. Food was always more expensive in urban areas.

Sakura sighed, about to protest. "Naruto, we'd love to bu – !"

"Fine," Sasuke told his friend, effectively cutting Sakura off. "Pick somewhere." He shrugged at Sakura incredulous look. "It'll probably save us money in the end. Paying once for all-you-can-eat buffet is better than buying Naruto twenty dishes of food somewhere else," he explained to her quietly.

Sakura huffed, subdued. "You're right. Naruto, choose a restaurant already – I'm starving." _Please let it be cheap,_ Sakura pleaded silently. Haruno Sakura did not have enough money to support Naruto's stomach – particularly if Naruto's stomach was craving expensive cuisine. After all, Sakura had to pay for college. And VitaminWater.

Speaking of the most delicious drink in the world…Sakura had been feeling oddly empty without her normal drink, always present at the bottom of her purse. "Remember guys, before we go back to school I need to buy a crate of VitaminWater," Sakura reminded her friends.

Naruto nodded, prancing forward. "I see a Zenshi's up there, let's go!" he beckoned to his friends with an ecstatic smile on his face.

Sasuke felt as if a small part of him had just died. Zenshi's was infamously expensive.

Crap.

* * *

Sakura wanted to beat her menu into the ground. The chipper greeting on the cover flap of the laminated poster was awfully irritating, she thought. It said in cheerful, ornate letters:

"_Zenshi's Restaurant:  
Where Zen meets Sushi!"_

Sakura grimaced. Too bad Zen wouldn't be meeting her _wallet_.

x.

"This looks great!" Naruto exclaimed loudly when they lined up at the buffet. He grabbed a heated plate, loading on two of each type of sushi as he traveled down the line.

Sakura followed his example, except with more dignity. Calmly, she used the tongs in front of each tray to select only a few types of sushi. The eel and avocado looked particularly delicious, as well as the plain rice wrapped in fried tofu skin.

Following Naruto back to their table, Sakura couldn't help but think about how well a Defense would be right now, or maybe an Endurance. VitaminWater and sushi…it wasn't exactly orthodox, but neither was Sakura.

She stared miserably at the b-relaxed Sasuke had whipped out from nowhere. He didn't have a man bag to put his stuff in…so where the hell did the VitaminWater come from?

Sasuke followed Sakura's gaze, locked onto his VitaminWater. "It's on the menu," he informed her flatly.

Sakura flushed, her pale cheeks turning a delicate blossom color. "Thanks," she told him, only slightly humiliated. Why hadn't she thought of that? Opening her previously detested menu, Sakura looked to the last section, where the beverages were printed. One VitaminWater was a hefty 3.00 dollars. So not worth it for the money, but _so_ worth it for the taste.

They were paying 25 dollars a person for the buffet, Sakura reasoned, so why not add a few more dollars for a drink?

"Mmm, Sakura, you have to try these noodles," Ino nudged Sakura with her elbow, right after Sakura ordered a Focus from the waiter. "They're positively delicious," Ino's eyes sparkled as she sucked a particularly long noodle into her mouth.

"Don't mind if I do," Sakura answered, smiling as she reached over to take an udon noodle from Ino's soup. The blonde was right. These noodles were particularly yummy. They were the perfect texture, and the correct amount of chewiness. Not to mention that the seasoning was to die for.

"Here's your beverage, Miss," the waiter said as he swiftly swung by the table with Sakura's VitaminWater. He breezed by their table, dropping the bottle onto the table.

Sakura stared at her VitaminWater. It was a Focus, like she asked, and it cost 3.00 dollars like the menu said, but…it was tiny. She picked it up, shaking up the light pink liquid inside. It was a mini-bottle.

"Augh!" she ground out, slamming the bottle to the table. "This place is SO not making me feel Zen-ful!"

* * *

By the time Naruto had finally finished eating, it was approaching 3 o'clock and a moderate drizzle had begun. Sakura's wallet also felt considerably lighter – it was true: Sasuke had paid with his credit card, so Sakura shoved a wad of cash into his hands to pay him back half the check. It was unbearably humid outside, even with the rain.

"Let's go home," Ino sighed, contemplating the best way to shield herself from the rain. Her new coat didn't have a hood, and she didn't have an umbrella with her either.

Sakura nodded in agreement. "We probably weren't supposed to be off campus so long anyway," she commented, looking up at the heavens. The muted grey clouds seemed even further away as water fell from the sky.

Naruto frowned. "I wanted to see a movie, dammit!" he complained. The rain had thoroughly spoiled his mood. "I guess we should just go home though," he admitted as the rain began to fall harder, gradually evolving into a merciless downpour.

"Hn," Sasuke contributed. He watched as Sakura threw out her tiny VitaminWater bottle, now drained of its small amount of liquid. Didn't she have to –

"C'mon guys, let's go," Sakura said to her friends dejectedly, "Time to go back to the smelly college campus," she announced with false cheer. She scraped her hair back into a messy bun before stepping out from underneath Zenshi's overhang.

Ino snapped a black hair elastic around the braid she had set in her hair. She didn't care if braids made her flaxen locks look like Heidi – it was the best way to keep hair frizz down to the lowest degree. "Yeah." She took Sasuke's place, walking with Sakura back towards campus in the torrential downpour.

Sasuke and Naruto followed them slowly, the group hurrying back to school unhappily in the rain.

* * *

Sakura shivered as soon as she walked into her dorm – it was _freezing_. She quickly stripped off her wet clothes, haphazardly hanging the pieces of clothing over her bed frame and on the backs of chairs. Crumpling up her moist clothes and tossing them in the hamper would be the worst idea after all. Molding laundry was not exactly her idea of fun.

Pulling on a terrycloth bathrobe, Sakura basked for a moment in the softness before gathering up her pajamas, a towel, and a small bag of toiletries. She slid into a pair of flip-flops (lime green) before opening her door to the hallway, and darted hastily towards the showers, anxious to get be pelted by bullets of relaxing hot water.

x.

"Well I'm heading back to my dorm. See ya," Sakura waved to one of her dorm mates after she gathered up her bathroom belongings. Wrapping a towel around her head as a turban, Sakura scooped up the rest of her things before throwing a quick smile over her shoulder to her friends.

After bouncing happily back into her dorm, Sakura paused a moment to grimace at her wet towels. Where would she put them _now_, with her clothes spread all over her room already? Ah.

The roseate haired girl clambered onto her desk chair and tossed her wet towel over the neck of the huge, bending lamp in the corner of her room. Glancing around her tiny dorm for another improvisational coat hook, she smiled as she jumped down from her chair, pushing it towards her microscopic closet. Swinging open the narrow door, Sakura hung her bathrobe over the corner of her open door (coat hangers were so passé anyway). Perfect.

Tugging the towel out of her hair, Sakura finger-combed through short, damp waves as she shrugged into a sweatshirt. The weather really was getting cold – instead of sleeping in a tank top and shorts, she would have to switch to at least a tee shirt and pajama pants.

Dropping herself appreciatively onto her mattress, Sakura picked a book up off of her desk, cracking it open to where she had placed a bookmark the night before. Pride and Prejudice, a classic book and an old favorite.

Ino had always scoffed at Sakura for reading in her spare time. What was the fun in reading? There weren't cute boys or endless amounts of shoes. There were only lots and lots of letters, crammed together into words, then sentences, then paragraphs…until it finally turned into a full novel.

Sakura had shrugged when Ino asked her why she found reading so fun. _"It's just something to do,"_ Sakura answered, waving Ino's skeptical look off. But Ino didn't understand. She didn't realize how free reading was, and how someone could get lost within all of those letters, caught up in a world far away from their own.

Sure, partying was fun, and drinking wasn't all that bad. Dancing was great, and making out was pretty freakin' awesome too. But Sakura didn't unwind and relax like Ino and Naruto did, partying and DAMNing themselves. She read instead. She would read until her eyes couldn't stay open anymore, losing herself in the world of Elizabeth Bennett and Mr. Darcy, or getting sucked into the story of Bella Swan and Edward Cullen from Twilight. Reading was her way of loosening up and relaxing.

That, and reading was great because you could drink bottles and bottles of VitaminWater while doing so and not even notice.

Speaking of which…Sakura heaved herself out of bed so she could jump over to her minifridge. She could go for a Defense right…about –

"Fuckkkk," Sakrua hissed when she opened the tiny door. There was _nothing_ in her refrigerator, NOTHING.

In their rush to get home, the quartet of students had forgotten to stop at a supermarket for her to restock on VitaminWater, Sakura realized soberly. She sighed before she slumped back over to her bed. Jamming her bookmark back into her book, Sakura tossed the novel back onto her desk before crawling underneath the covers to go to sleep.

Reading was just _reading_ without the VitaminWater.

* * *

"I'm so mad, I could kick myself," Sakura wailed to Ino as they walked down to the cafeteria together the next day. It was raining particularly hard today, the precipitation coming down in thick vertical sheets of wetness.

Ino patted Sakura's arm consolingly as they got into the breakfast line, securing trays for both of them. "Cheer up Forehead, it's only a couple of days," she told Sakura with a smile.

Sakura picked up a yogurt cup half heartedly, setting it on her tray moodily. "That's a long time Ino…" she answered with a hearty groan.

Ino smiled as apologetically as she could while she led the way back to their table. "Hey Naruto, Sasuke," she said to the two boys as they approached the table, yawning.

Sakura gave Sasuke a small, emo-ful smile in hello while Naruto started to complain to Ino how loud the storm had been on his side of campus, and _especially_ in his corner dorm. "Hi," Sakura greeted him quietly, before looking down to dig through her bag in false hope.

Sasuke looked at her desolate form, petite, guarded, and VitaminWater-less. "Hn," he acknowledged her, setting something on her tray before turning to put his stuff down. "Morning," he mumbled to her quietly, dropping his bookbag to the floor and taking off to join the meal line before it got any longer.

Sakura looked up from her tote. Sasuke had put something on the table, she was sure. Her eyes trailed slowly from his end of the table to her tray.

A VitaminWater.

b-relaxed, to be exact.

Sakura smiled. "Good morning to you too, Sasuke," she whispered to no one before taking her newly acquired VitaminWater and unscrewing the cap, enjoying how the seal cracked.

b-relaxed had a sugary flavor to it, guava and jackfruit.

It was definitely sweet, Sakura thought, but not nearly as sweet as the person who had given it to her.

* * *

Aasjdlak, that took forever to write. I promise Like VitaminWater will get more interesting. It just has to be boring to get to the climax, hahaha.

And **HEY**. For all you wonderful Kakashi fans, my bff fo lyfe, defray, has compiled a list of Kakashi x (insert name) fics for everyone to enjoy. The big highlights of this list include KakaSaku (our personal OTP, haha), ItaSaku, KakaRin, and lots of other little pairings, including yaoi. Read and comment it – _linkage is in my profile_.

Review. (:


	11. 10: Rescue

**Vitamin**Water Fact Number 11: The new XXX label is pretty bangin', I must say.

* * *

_Like __**Vitamin**__Water_  
x. by ANGELforSHOW

**Chapter Ten**: Rescue.  
**Purpose**: Metabolism.

* * *

-

_let's get these teen hearts beating faster, __**faster**__._

_-p!atd_

-

* * *

-

Not very many people knew what the entire Sai fiasco last year was really about.

Ino had managed to chalk it up, saying that Sakura and Sai had broken up because of indifferences, and not because Sai was a lying bastard. Who just so happened to be gay.

There was nothing wrong with gay people of course, Ino and Sakura agreed. They were normal humans…they just swung the other, unconventional way. But the last thing Sakura wanted was for people to console her purely on the basis that another man had beat her out for the attention of her so-called boyfriend.

The strangest thing though, was how all the signs of break up (and homosexuality) had been there: Sai refused to do things with her over the weekend, he avoided physical contact with her as much as possible, and he just wasn't the boyfriend-y type. He didn't like to hold her hand, or give her small, sporadic gifts. He wouldn't openly embrace her, and he wasn't exactly passionate when he kissed her. Quite frankly, it had been remotely similar to kissing a rock.

But for some reason, it was still came across as surprising when Sai had turned around and confessed to Sakura that he had been using her to cover up his true sexual orientation. It made Sakura want to whip the shiny homecoming queen tiara off her head and throw it at Sai's (beautiful) lying face. She wanted to sink into the floor and die. She wanted to go home and go to bed and toss her stupid dress and her stupid corsage into the river. It had been the worst feeling in the _world_.

From the first day when Sai asked her out (and then just walked away) Sakura had known something was off about their new relationship. But she waved it off as nervous butterflies he probably had crashing around in his stomach, or perhaps as indigestion. The cafeteria food _had_ been peculiar.

But deep inside, Sakura had always known their relationship wasn't going to be perfect and normal, like your average fluffy high school romance. She knew the break up was going to be painful, because that's how it always was with these weird pretty boys.

She really could have – should have – seen it coming.

* * *

Ever since Sai, Sakura had sworn off boys.

It wasn't just a proclamation, "I will not date boys, because they smell and have cooties. And they can break hearts a little too well." either. Sakura had taken her heart, locked it up tight in her emotional bank, and thrown the key out into the gutter. She would not like boys. She would not date boys. She would not even _associate _with possible heart breakers. She was a girl with a mission; a girl on the ultimate boy-fast.

She was _Sakura_, dammit, and she did not want her partially healed heart to be jabbed at any longer!

Which was why it was particularly irritating that this "Uchiha Sasuke" character had come into her life.

--

Sasuke was a tad strange, Sakura had to say.

The kid was drop-dead-freaking-please-wear-a-hazard-sign-around-you-neck-gorgeous. He _had_ to know he was ajskdjak-ing hot. Sasuke was the kind of guy that made every girl in the room swoon and want to make his babies. His hair was fluffy, his body was delicious, and his eyes were, dare she say it, _smoldering_.

The first time she had seen him; her mind had not registered the name 'Sasuke', but instead, the synonymous term of 'Sex God'. Sasuke was the cherry on top of the hot fudge sundae. He was the first part of the ice cream sundae that everyone went after, and then the part that everyone wanted more of. Screaming little children liked him, as well as toothless old grandmas. Sasuke was just that. He was Sasuke, master of all things delectable.

Sakura enjoyed his company, and she certainly enjoyed spending her fair share of time with said sex god, but honestly…he certainly wasn't good for her boy-fast. At all.

Which was why Sakura was particularly annoyed.

Because her boy-fast was NOT to be broken.

Not even by the scrumptiously scrumptious Uchiha Sasuke.

* * *

Sakura was upset.

No, she was more than upset. Sakura was freaking unhappy. She wasn't even unhappy – she was hard-core **angsting**. Angst was filtering through her body as if it were in her veins. She felt like she wanted to dress in all black and then wax poetic about death and depression.

Why? Because her life sucked, that's why.

Her grades were slipping, Ino was acting particularly out there, Naruto was being too loud, Sasuke was "Hn."ing too much, Ibiki-sensei was a _sadist_, her father wasn't answering her phone calls, and she had gotten her dry clean only cashmere sweater drenched in rain. And she _still_ didn't have any VitaminWater in her freaking mini-fridge.

Life was looking down. Way down. Like down into Hell kind of down. So argh.

But Sakura was even more upset because her number one rule of life seemed to be sliding away too: the boy-fast. Her boy-fast rule seemed to be being ripped apart by the seams. Slowly, so she could hear every tiny little stitch pop. All because of stupid, stupid, _stupid_ Sasuke.

Stupid Sasuke and his _stupid_ actions. His stupid, brainless actions.

It made her want to punch something. A lot.

* * *

As soon as Sakura woke up at 6:07 AM – an hour before she was even supposed to be _close_ to consciousness – she had the feeling that it would be one of those days.

Y'know the kind of day when nothing went right. The kind of the day that you woke up too early, but you still didn't get ready in time, and it was humid as a bitch outside, so your hair poofed up, and you failed a calculus quiz, and the cafeteria served the nastiest food ever, and you didn't even have VitaminWater to choke it down wi –

It was at that point in that depressing train of though that Sakura _knew_ it was going to be one of those days. Because she still didn't have any VitaminWater left in her fridge. She had been lucky enough to skimp a couple bottles off of Sasuke yesterday, but she doubted he would be quite as generous today.

Honestly – that Uchiha kid had to love his VitaminWater more than he did hair gel.

Any how, Sakura dragged herself out of bed with a seemingly _negative_ amount of vigor, grumbling inwardly with each stumble towards the mini-bathroom connected to her tiny dorm.

She rubbed her eyes blearily, turning on the hot water tap and waiting for the water gushing out of the spout to become warm.

A quick look at Sakura would tell that she was tired.

A closer examination into the mirror revealed that she was fucking dead on her feet.

As Sakura pulled at her skin and tried to slap some life into her cheeks, she sighed, noticing how college was suddenly make her look older and older each day. Which was downright depressing as hell.

Splashing some warm water onto her face, Sakura started to scrub at her facial skin, lathering her face wash into a white, foamy layer on her skin. Rubbing harder, Sakura made sure she got into the creases of her skin. She may look like death, but she would not have blackheads or oily skin, dammit!

She rinsed off her white mask, patting her face dry with a towel. Sighing again, Sakura picked up her toothbrush, wet it, and squeezed a bit of Crest onto the bristles before sticking it in her mouth.

Scowling at her reflection while she brushed her teeth, Sakura contemplated two things: what she should wear today, and how the _hell_ was she going to survive without her VitaminWater?

She groaned again as she thought of the latter question, spitting her toothpaste rather violently into the old sink as a response.

* * *

"Sakura, you are especially pissy today," Ino diagnosed sarcastically when she saw Sakura take an unenthusiastic swig of orange juice from her plastic cup and rip an angry chomp out of her I-Can't-Believe-It's-Not-Butter!'ed toast.

Said pissy girl made a face. "What makes you say _that_, Pig?" she asked quite heartlessly, glaring at the strawberries on her plate – they seemed to whither underneath her merciless glower.

Ino threw a dirty look back at her friend. Count on Sakura to screw up everyone's day at breakfast.

"Hey, cheer up guys, at least it's going to be a good day," Naruto intervened, holding up the spoon he was using to eat his Lucky Charms as a sort of white flag.

"What makes you say _that_, Whisker Boy?" Sakura repeated, frowning when she realized she was out of orange juice too. She did not bother to refill it. She would've preferred to be drinking an Essential now anyway.

Naruto rolled his eyes, not phased from Sakura's whisker jab. So he had funny scars on his face, big deal. "Well for starters, classes were cancelled again today," he told the two girls with an impish grin, flicking his wrist, iPhone in hand.

Ino let out a slight squeal while Sakura slumped further down in her seat.

"I'm out of VitaminWater. For real," Sakura informed her tablemates shortly, sliding her tray away from her and burying her head in her arms.

Ino giggled slightly. "Why did you get any yester…oh," she ended sheepishly, breaking off her sentence with awkward laughter. She twisted sunny blonde hair around her fingers as she tried to think of a solution. "Well, you can get some today," she started, "But there's a freaking _hurricane_ brewing around outside, so that might be dangerous."

Sakura grumbled a bit. "I don't think a little bit of rain can hurt me right now," she informed Ino, clearly still grumpy.

"Fine then," Ino replied, sticking her nose in the air. "Sasuke, go with her."

Sasuke looked up from the book he had been reading ("Business Management for the Young Heir(ess)". Psh.). He obviously had not been paying attention to the conversation that had been circulating around him. He was confused about who "her" was and where it was going to, but the best thing to do at a time like this was to stay silent. He'd catch on eventually.

So he did.

"…"

"So you'll go with Sakura right?" Naruto asked Sasuke. He did not want to get his face ripped off by an angry Sakura today, thanks.

"…"

"Because she _reeeeeally_ needs to go to the supermarket and get her damn VitaminWater before she claws someone's eyes out," Ino added helpfully.

Ah, so that was it.

"Hn," Sasuke answered with a slight nod. They could interpret that as they wished.

"Great, thanks for agreeing. Now go, shoo," Ino said to the Uchiha, taking his abandoned meal tray and throwing out his trash for him.

Naruto pulled Sasuke's jacket off of the back of his chair, holding it out to Sasuke. "Try and make it back before the hurricane hits, you guys," he said to them, genuinely concerned.

Sasuke nodded, while Sakura sulked and saluted half-heartedly. "Will do," she answered glumly, following Sasuke slowly out into the rain.

* * *

The closest VitaminWater-bearing supermarket was at least halfway through the city.

And Sakura and Sasuke, being poor college students, did not have a car to use as transportation to said supermarket. (That was a lie, actually. Sakura _and_ Sasuke had a car on campus they could use, but what _idiot_ would drive their brand spankin' new BMW out into a brewing hurricane?)

Needless to say, by the time the two of them arrived in the supermarket, they were both drenched and pissy to the extreme.

Sakura literally wrung out her hair on the dirty, checkered market floor, while Sasuke shook his head free of excess water. "Why is it so wet outside?" Sakura muttered angrily. She added a few choice curse words under her breath as well.

"Because it's rain," Sasuke drawled out bitterly, unwrapping his soaked scarf and attempting to wring all the water out of it. He failed. And his scarf was freakin' dry clean only.

Sakura gritted her teeth before beginning to stomp away from her psychology partner. "_Thank you, Captain Obvious,_" she told him shortly, storming away to try and look for the "flavored water" aisle.

Sasuke sighed and reached after Sakura, grabbing her wrist. "This way," he mumbled, dragging her to the opposite side of the supermarket.

Expertly, Sasuke weaved through crowds of people in the store. Tons of people were attempting to stock up on extra provisions. Apparently this storm was going to be a bad one, and they'd be stuck indoors for quite some time. Sasuke shook his head inwardly, scornfully. Buying excessive loads of canned goods and bottles of water, withdrawing bundles of cash from the ATM machine, and searching for last-minute first aid supply was something these idiotic people should've done months ago when hurricane season was starting to come around.

* * *

Standing in front of the shelves of VitaminWater, Sakura grumbled underneath her breath. "I don't even like some of these flavors…" she whispered to herself.

"Just get some and let's go," Sasuke told her impatiently. He wanted to get back to campus before the storm really started to go. "Grab a few bottles. We'll come back for a crate when there isn't a freaking _typhoon_ going on outside."

Sakura obliged, crinkling her nose in annoyance as she started to sweep a few bottles off the shelves into her basket. She made sure she had her favorites, definitely: Rescue, Defense, Power-C, XXX, Essential, and Focus.

Slowly, her anger began to subside when she realized all would be well in her life again as soon as she paid for her drinks, cracked open a Rescue, and –

"HA, you can't catch be, haaa ha ha ha haaaaa!" a little boy pushed past her, shoving her white coat aside with sticky fingers. He taunted his chasers in a sing-song voice. "SLOW POKE!"

"Konohamaru, come back!" a whiny little girl cried, chasing after him, a snotty looking boy in tow. The girl pushed past Sasuke, making him flatten himself against the Gatorade rack, while the snotty kid followed. "Give me back my chocolate!"

Sakura's face stretched into a large frown. Choco…late? She looked down slowly to wear the Konohamaru kid had pushed her coat aside.

She was met with little brown handprints of melted milk chocolate. On her dry-clean only coat. Which was white. Which meant she was going to _kill_ someone.

"That little fucking bitch!" Sakura cried out, stomping her foot. "This is dry clean only, you retard!" she called after bratty child. It was no use. The little menace was probably running down the next aisle, terrorizing the next poor woman with a fabulous coat.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. "It's only a chocolate stain, it's gonna come out," he told her. He took her basket and tossed three b-relaxed bottles in – she would need them.

"That's not the point. The point is, I'm going have to waste 50 dollars on cleaning a coat that was absolutely _spotless_ before, just because some idiot kid decided to pig out on someone else's Hershey bar!" Sakura told him, eyes flashing with anger.

"What the fuck is your problem? A stupid stain shouldn't make you so fucking mad!" Sasuke hissed out at her, his patience finally starting to crack.

"You're not the one with the dirty coat now, are you? So shut your mouth!" Sakura shot back, crossing her arms and giving him her worst death glare of the day.

"Obviously something else is wrong with you, and I was just trying to freakin' help," Sasuke responded. "Let's just go." He started to turn with the basket in hand.

"Do you wanna know what my problem is?" Sakura ground out to his retreating back.

"What?"

Sakura clenched her jaw and fisted her hands. "It's YOU."

Sasuke whipped around, "What the fuck did _I_ do?" he asked, giving her a deadpanning stare.

"You're – I just – you – you're just being _you_," Sakura spat out, her rage deflating with a large whoosh.

Sasuke gave her another look. "Excuse me?"

Sakura rubbed her temples for a second, before spreading her arms out in a shrug. "You're just being you. You're being too nice. You're a boy, you're supposed to be an asshole, but you aren't. And you're give me VitaminWater and you let me copy your notes and you get me to study so I don't fail and you go on walks with me and you just…you…why?" she asked, slumping against the shelves of VitaminWater behind her.

"Because that's just how I am, and I don't know why I'm so nice to you, I just…you just…argh," Sasuke faltered, sagging against the Gatorade wall behind him.

"You're just ruining _everything_," Sakura said, brokenly. She straightened up and stepped towards the middle of the aisle.

Sasuke followed suit, so he was right in front of her. "How?" he asked.

Thin, pink eyebrows slanted downwards. "Because you're making me think differently. I've been on a boy-fast every since Sai, and you – you're making me break it. Because you're being too nice and you're not being like that dick-face boy you're supposed to be like. And who knows I think I actually might _like _you because you – !" Sakura cut herself off, green eyes widening. "I didn't – you aren't – I think…"

"I'm not what?" Sasuke asked quietly. "Good enough? Gay enough?"

She didn't answer.

So Sasuke did the only thing a man his position could do.

He leaned down, and he kissed her.

Which, like the last-minutes shoppers surrounding them, was something he should've done months ago.

* * *

It's out. It took two months, but Like VitaminWater, Chapter 10 is out. Sorry about the wait.

Thanks to defray, Epiff Annie, and aNdreaa for whipping my ass back into shape to do this. I love you all.

Review. (:


	12. 11: Charge

**Vitamin**Water Fact Number 12: LIFEWATER WILL NOT COMPARE! (Even though it is really good.)

* * *

_Like __**Vitamin**__Water_  
x. by ANGELforSHOW

**Chapter Eleven**: Charge.  
**Purpose**: More Electrolytes.

* * *

-

He was stupid.  
He was _stupid_.  
He was _**stupid**_.

Sakura cursed under her breath as she ducked under a random overhang in the streets. She had just been desperate to get away from Sasuke, the supermarket, even the VitaminWater.

Sakura smoothed down frazzled pink hair and took a deep, shaky breath as she examined the chocolate stain the little boy had left on her coat – it had already soaked in because rainwater had pounded the milky blot into the very fibers of her ivory coat.

It didn't matter though. The thing that really mattered was the fact that Sasuke was _fucking moronic_. Seriously – why did he just go and kiss her? With one simple gesture, Sasuke had wiped away an entire year's work.

An entire year of avoiding as many possible boyfriends as possible had gone completely down the toilet. It wasn't even _in_ the toilet anymore. It was down rotting in the sewers and being pumped out into the Pacific Ocean. And she _hated _it.

The worst part was, she hadn't pushed him away the second his lips had landed themselves on hers (smearing her lip gloss, by the way). No, she kissed him back instead. She had enjoyed the first kiss she had received in ages, when she wasn't supposed to. SHE was the one who was _fucking moronic._

But the worst, **worst** part was how he made her feel after he kissed her. When he had kissed her, she felt butterflies explode in her stomach, her head start to spin with hormones, her blood start to rush in her veins – every single cliché that people had said about the "perfect kiss" seemed to have happened to her. Her pulse started to jump, her lips were scorching – even if only for five seconds, her eyes closed on their own, warm tingles creeped up her spine. He made her feel beautiful, as stupid as it sounded.

Sakura really, honestly didn't appreciate that.

* * *

He was not in shock.  
He was _not_ in shock.  
He was SO NOT in shock.

Sasuke blinked (in shock) at Sakura's retreating back, quickly running away from him, her coat billowing out behind her like a cape. She weaved in between those damned last-minute shoppers and disappeared.

He didn't know if what he did was right or wrong, but he _did_ know that he was really freakin' relieved that he had kissed her. It was like a giant weight had been crushing his chest, and with one simple contact of skin, it had dispersed in midair.

Shaking his head and pulling himself out of his reverie, Sasuke bent down and slowly picked up the bottles of VitaminWater Sakura had dropped when she had made her great escape. Exchanging the dented bottles for fresh ones, Sasuke gathered as many bottles as he could (in varied flavors – particularly Charge, a rarer breed of the much sought after VitaminWater species. Very violent in temperament, but quite delicious when tamed correctly).

After standing in line for nearly ten minutes (the woman in front of him had enough food to feed the entire continent of Africa), Sasuke finally paid, dumping all of Sakura's VitaminWaters into an eco-friendly canvas bag.

Shoving the receipt into his pocket, Sasuke paused outside the store, looking up into the dreary gray sky. Rain was starting to fall in slow, fat droplets, splashing onto the dirty city streets and running into pungent sewers.

He supposed he should find Sakura, work things out with her, and dump some VitaminWater down her throat before she could yell at him.

…Yeah.

--

Sasuke wasn't stupid.

He knew that calling Sakura on her cell wasn't going to do much good. So, he did the next best thing – he texted Ino, and told her to ask get a hold of Sakura and then report back to him.

Naturally, the blonde had been suspicious, but eventually he got Ino to tell him that Sakura was sitting in the park, blasting her iPod and texting her back so fast that Ino was afraid that Sakura was going to snap her EnV in half.

So he did what anyone who cared remotely about the girl he maybepossiblysortof liked – he went to the park to haul her ass home and tell her that just maybe, just maybepossiblysortof…he liked her. A lot.

* * *

Sakura pulled her (still very stained) coat tighter around her body as she waited for Ino to text her back. She had already told Ino basically everything.

The blonde's response was predictable. As a best friend, she hissed in anger when Sakura had been caught off guard, her resolves shattered. But as one of the few romantics left in the world, Ino had swooned and secretly urged Sasuke to keep going. Because Ino knew that Sasuke was good for Sakura, even if Sakura didn't think so, and best friends knew best.

Sakura knew that Ino wanted her and Sasuke to date. She knew that Ino thought Sasuke, the cold, stoic hero and Sakura, the girl whose heart had been shut off from love, would make the perfect couple – to frosted souls to finally come together and melt the ice away, creating true love.

Sakura also knew that if everything Ino thought was good came true, the world have no politics, every place would be transformed to either a beach or a flower garden, and Shikamaru would've had green eyes like her. ("So our babies can have AQUA eyes!" Ino exclaimed excitedly. Too bad Sakura was the one passing biology – she wasn't sure if eye colors being mixed were even genetically possible.)

Setting her iPod to shuffle, Sakura scooted a bit over on the park bench she had claimed as her own, sitting under the minimal cover from rain the snaggly, bald tree overhead gave her.

She smiled when she heard the next song on her iPod begin to play. It was like her iPod knew her better than some people did – it always seem to shuffle to the right song every time she was feeling lonely, or tired, or depressed.

And with a growing smile on her face, she began to sing.

* * *

Sasuke shuffled into the park quietly, hands jammed in his pockets as he looked for any sign of Sakura – a flash of pink hair, a glimpse of white coat.

"_Hey, didn't need you anyway,  
I'm get better everyday.  
Don't you think it's funny how it all works out?  
Yeah, I finally got a life.  
I go on every night.  
Now I've got so much to say, so much to do.  
This is life, life after you."_

Or a sample of her voice. Sasuke wondered if she knew she could sing so well.

As he approached the bench she was sitting at, pouring her heart into her song, thumbs flying over her cell phone keyboard, she seemed to be more content than she had been the past two weeks.

Until she saw him.

And without a word, she scooped her technology into her purse and ran as quickly as he had come.

* * *

"Sakura, wait."

Sakura tried to pull further ahead, running as fast as her Birkenstock'ed feet could carry her. "Leave me alone, Sasuke," she said icily as she fled.

Despite the fact that she had been in track in high school, Sakura had been a sprinter – she didn't handle long distance running too well. And this proved to be an issue right about now. She had been evading Sasuke for about two miles now. She was out of breath right now, but for a might-as-well-be-pro soccer player like Sasuke, it was a piece of cake.

She cursed very loudly when he caught up with her, forcing her to stop in the middle of another abandoned park. The rain had also begun to pick up again. Damn.

"Sakura, we have to talk," Sasuke said to her, shaking his wet bangs out of his face. He grabbed her arm gently, just to make sure she wouldn't run away again.

"What do you want?" Sakura asked coldly, gripping her nearly frozen fingers tighter around the leather handles of her purse. "I don't really want to talk to you."

Sasuke led her over to a rickety park bench, sitting down and pulling her down to the bench to join him. "Too bad. We have to talk," he told her, not letting go of her sleeve.

"No we don't," Sakura whispered. She knew what came next – this was the part when he told her that it was all a mistake, and that he didn't actually like her like that, and how he just wanted everything to go back to the way it was before. He was breaking up with her, and they hadn't even dated.

"Why are you so afraid of commitment?" Sasuke asked, his eyebrows furrowing into a puzzled 'V'.

Sakura rolled her eyes, sighed exasperatedly, and looked away, refusing to meet Sasuke's warm black eyes. "You try having your heart broken," she told him bluntly, staring at a tree's leaves, dripping with water.

"You can't let one asshole ruin the rest of your life," Sasuke told her as equally frankly. "You can't let it control you forever."

"It's hard _not_ to!" Sakura hissed out, glaring at Sasuke.

Sasuke looked at her. He looked past the smeared mascara, the rain drenched hair, the stained coat, and he looked at her. He saw the pain she was holding on to, the last bit she had of the love that once was, and he saw how broken she was, her fragile heart dropped and crumbled into a million pieces, each one sharp and jagged, trying to protect what was left of itself.

He shook his head, and this time it was he who looked away. "You aren't trying though," he said quietly, in his deep, soft voice.

Sakura dropped her head, shaking it. "I'm too young to be jaded," she told him. "I'm tired of love, like, relationships. I can't do it again."

"Who says I'd hurt you?"

"Because you don't like me Sasuke," Sakura whispered into the rain. He barely caught her words. "You don't like me enough to stay with me forever and never break my heart again. Commitment for eternity is something no one has, but something I'm looking for. And…I don't think you're someone who'd give up his freedom just to stay with me." She slowly stood up from the bench, backing away a few feet as if distance would shield the pain that was inevitably going to happen.

Sasuke laughed. It was short, bitter, and thick with angst. "You just assumed that?" he asked. He ran a hand through his rain drenched hair, somehow still sticking up in the back, and a little too long in the front.

Sakura shrunk into the rain a little more. "It's true though, isn't it?" she asked, her face crumbling slowly.

She knew it was going to happen. She felt her heart start to crack, her shoulders start to sag, her eyes start to tear.

She had already experienced heartbreak once – she was a big girl. She could do it again. She had Ino, she had VitaminWater, she had ice cream, and she had a credit card. She could do it.

So she braced herself for the pain, the hurt, the disappointment –

Sasuke laughed again. "Of course not," he said.

Sakura blinked, her large green eyes searching his face for any hint of a lie.

Sasuke reached into the bag next to him on the bench, and stood up, holding out a bottle of VitaminWater towards her, the faintest smile on his face.

Even as the fuzzy rain picked up even harder, Sakura could tell what it was. It was lemon-lime flavored, slightly yellow, with a label the color of clovers. Charge.

Approaching him slowly, she took the bottle and fell clumsily into his arms, burying her face into the crook of his neck and his shoulder, smelling the faint scent of aftershave and rain. His strong arms holding her tightly, she smiled as she opened the Charge and took a sip, touching it to his lips, offering some.

Sasuke shook his head, smiled, and instead, locked his lips on hers once more. He didn't like clichés, but he liked this one – kissing in the rain.

Sakura smiled into his lips, and this time, she didn't run away.

_-&-_

And in the middle of an abandoned park, next to a rotting bench, a wise oak tree, and in rain pouring down straight from the heavens, a broken girl and an ice cold boy embraced each other, with their lips, with their arms, with their hearts.

They started to mend, they started to melt, and they never seemed to let go. And slowly, they became alive again.

* * *

_No, it's not over yet._

Three things I'd love for everyone to read and review (aside from this chapter):

**01.** The asjdklajAMAZING collaboration between Miss Aerith and I. It's called "Be My Striaghtener," and the only thing flyer than it are the two authoresses. Winkwink.  
**02.** A oneshot of mine titled "AntiWings".  
**03.** The first chapter of the new multi-chapter I'm going to work on after Like VitaminWater is finished, called "Bombshell Records".

…por favorrr?

Review. (:

Oh, and who can guess what song Sakura sang is, and what song the line "I'm too young to be jaded" is from, and who they're both sung by? Smileyfacesmileyface.


	13. 12: Multi V

**Vitamin**Water Fact Number 13: Sometimes all you need is a good Revive to kick your sorry ass back into shape.

* * *

_Like __**Vitamin**__Water_  
x. by ANGELforSHOW

**Chapter Twelve**: Multi-V.  
**Purpose**: More Key Nutrients.

* * *

-

This was all quite new to Sakura.

Okay, maybe it wasn't _new_ to her, but it certainly had been a while since she had held hands with someone and actually meant it.

She pondered as she and Sasuke slowly made the trek back to campus, their fingers intertwined as they embraced the cold wind together. In all honesty, she was kind of dreading getting back to the university campus. The sight of Sasuke and her together wasn't really that big of a deal, but the sight of Sasuke and she _together_ was. There was no doubt that this would cause some sort of uproar amongst the Sasuke fangirls.

But Sakura didn't really care about what the fangirls thought. She couldn't care less about them and their simpering looks at her newly established boyfriend. She didn't really give a damn about how much time they spent making care baskets to send to him when he had a cold (really, it had only been the _sniffles_, Sakura mused), or how much money they wasted when they bought him chocolates (Sasuke hated sweets. He gave all the chocolates he ever received to Sakura to eat.).

There were only two people whose opinions really mattered to Sakura right now, and they were sitting in the cafeteria sharing a pot of coffee, peering out to window to see if they were coming back safely.

Ino and Naruto, their bright hair shining in the dreary gray window like lighthouse beacons.

Sakura must have stiffened when she saw them, because Sasuke squeezed her hand reassuringly. I know, he seemed to say.

Sakura took in a deep breath and stepped in front of Ino and Naruto, leaning into Sasuke slightly.

And Ino, her best friend, her rock, her support, her pick-me-up, her shoulder-to-cry on, her diary – _smiled_.

Sakura sighed in relief as Ino started to giggle and nudge Naruto with her elbow, breathing in the cold, fresh air. And then she prepared herself for the inevitable –

"Tell me EVERYTHING!"

* * *

Ino eagerly scooped copious amounts of vanilla fudge swirl from her ice cream carton as she sat at the foot of Sakura's bed, grinning with sparkling teeth from ear to ear.

"You kissed in the rain?" she asked Sakura, wiping some ice cream away from her lip with a leaf-printed napkin. "Cliché, Sakura," Ino scolded her cheerfully. "Seriously though, Sasuke's one big hunk of man-meat. I'm so impeccably proud of you."

Sakura laughed slightly. "Hey, I think I like a little more about him than his _looks_, Pig," she told her best friend while digging a large wad of mint chocolate chip ice cream out of her own carton.

"In all seriousness though," – Ino's expression suddenly turned somber – "don't mess this up, Sakura. Sasuke's great." She sucked on her ice cream covered spoon thoughtfully. "I really think you should marry him."

Sakura combed her fingers through her short pastel locks. "You're jumping a little far ahead, Ino," she said to her, "but I know. This can't just be another fling. He's too serious for one of those."

Ino nodded. "Now there's one more serious problem we have to tackle…"

"Mmm?" Sakura hummed, mouth occupied by a heaping spoonful of ice cream.

"What are we going to do about your appearance?!" Ino asked dramatically, clapping two hands to her cheeks. "Sweatpants to early morning psych classes simply cannot do."

Sakura sighed. "Oh, Ino, _shut up_…"

* * *

Sakura really had to admit that it was weird having a boyfriend again.

It wasn't that she didn't enjoy it – no, she really did like sneaking kisses in the lecture hall and watching Sasuke's fangirls flail with anger – but it was weird not being single.

Whenever some asshole frat boy ogled at her and Ino on their way to get cappuccinos, she wondered why they couldn't tell that she already have a freaking boyfriend.

When the pimply boy next to her in chemistry waited for her after class to talk about, "Uh, um, did you get the homework?" and "We don't get homework in chemistry, dude," she regarded him with slight disgust and wondered why he wouldn't leave her alone, didn't he see Sasuke waiting for her two feet away?

When she went to buy VitaminWater at the café and the cashier boy was exceptionally friendly to her, she wondered what kind of blind jackass he had to be not to see Sasuke right next to her, purchasing _both_ of their Multi-Vs.

All these things had been happening for the past few months, but post-hurricane, every event had been brought into a new light.

Depending on how she felt that day, Sakura might have flicked the frat boy off, or walked straight past the chemistry kid. If Ino were with her at the café, she would've pushed Ino to flirt with the cashier so they could get their drinks for free.

But now Sakura couldn't do that. The freedom she once had as a single person had been wiped away with one clichéd kiss in the rain.

But…that didn't matter to Sakura when she saw Sasuke waiting for her at the door of the café with their drinks in hand, or when she managed to steal a little kiss from him while trudging across campus at 9:00 AM to Brit. Lit., kisses that made him perk up a little bit (after all, a grumpy Uchiha Sasuke wasn't nearly as nice as the not-so-grumpy one).

Sakura loved everything about being in a relationship, from hand holding to warm embraces at the end of the day to borrowing strawberry Chapstick from her boyfriend, simply because she giggled every time she saw him fish through his pockets for the tiny pink tube.

She loved how Sasuke looked at her sometimes, and how his voice grew a little softer whenever he talked to her. And…even though they hadn't been dating officially for a long time, Sakura knew she had loved Sasuke from the moment she set eyes on him the first day of psych class.

It was scary, and it was confusing, but Sakura thought that maybe, just maybe, she was in love for the first time in her life.

* * *

It's short. Really short. But it's a transitional chapter. And I know this is a shitty chapter to post after a three months, but at least it's an update, and at least I haven't given up.

Thanks, as always, to defray, annieberry, illusioned, aNdreaa, xoAerith, and all the wonderful people on LJ who convinced me to keep going.

Review. (:


	14. 13: Formula 50

**Vitamin**Water Fact Number 14: Defense is probably the best, hands down. That is all.

* * *

_Like __**Vitamin**__Water_  
x. by ANGELforSHOW

**Chapter Thirteen**: Formula 50.  
**Purpose**: Fuel.

* * *

-

It was nearing the end of November.

The weather had long since rained itself out, and it had settled to be bitingly cold instead. Exams were in one week. Winter break was in two. Her first semester as a university student was nearly over, Sakura realized on a particularly freezing morning, and she had been with Sasuke for nearly a month. Now _that _was some scary shit.

Looking back at late August to now, Sakura realized with slight horror that her life really _had_ changed since starting college. It wasn't even because of material things like, how she got a new laptop, or intelligence wise (because hey, she was a _beast_ at chemistry now). Even Sasuke didn't attribute to this strange amount of change Sakura had found herself undergoing.

The difference between the August-Sakura and the November-Sakura was a gap of personality, maturity, and growth. By discovering how to care of herself, let her feelings go, and learn how to forget and move on, Sakura had changed.

She liked to think that she was happier.

She liked to think that she was smarter.

She liked to think that she was, perhaps, a bit prettier.

But she mostly like to think that she had grown up, even if it was just by a little bit.

For once in her life, Sakura had become comfortable with who she was. Yes, she still had some issues, and yes, she still had piles upon piles of things to learn, both about medicine and about life, but for the first time, she was truly content with who she was.

It thrilled her to no end that she was ending the first chapter of her life without regrets.

* * *

_**Memorandum.**_

_All students are reminded to sign up for spring semester electives as soon as possible._

_Registration begins Saturday!_

_Remember, the earlier one signs up, the better the chance one gets into their preferred course!_

_-Staff_

* * *

There was a lot to be said about grape flavoring.

On one hand, grape flavoring was absolutely disgusting. Like the cough syrup grape, or the nasty nausea-inducing grape. But grape was different when it came to other things. Sakura found that grape lollipops were quite enjoyable, as well as grape sours.

Formula 50 VitaminWater fell into the latter category, thank God. It was perfect – Formula 50 balances water and flavor perfectly. That rapper dude really knew his stuff.

"Sakura, you're freaking insane for thinking of these things," Ino informed her that morning as they loitered around campus. It was sunny, although still bitterly cold, so most of the student body was still outside.

Sakura brushed some of her hair away from her face with gloved fingers. "I am _not_," she protested. "You'd say the same thing about coffee, and how Starbucks is better than Seattle's Best or something," she huffed, producing a small puff of white condensation.

Ino grinned like a fox (she had really been spending too much time with Naruto). "Probably, but still. Grape flavored water sounds disgusting anyway." She started walking on her toes, searching for the rest of their small group. "Sasuke and Naruto are over there, let's go, Forehead!" Ino smiled and waved a good distance away. Naruto jumped up and waved back enthusiastically. Sasuke blew out a small burst of white breath and nodded his head ever-so-slightly. Ino rolled her eyes. Typical...

A few moments later, all four of them were gathered together beneath the administrations building.

"Signing up for classes?" Sakura asked, while scooting closer to Sasuke and leaning into his black coat. Sasuke nodded, while Naruto smiled brightly. "Yeah! What are you guys taking this semester? Like, I know we have to have our major classes, but what electives are you taking?"

Ino pursed her lips and fiddled with the thick blonde braid she had set her hair in. "I think I might actually take ballroom dancing. It's supposed to help a lot with grace and movement. And it just seems fun." She paused for a moment. "You should take it with me!" she suggested to her friends.

"I have the grace of a small elephant," Sakura reminded Ino, while Naruto pretended to make retching noises and Sasuke gave her a deadpan look.

Naruto fished through his coat pockets and produced a booklet of classes their university offered. "We should take cooking!" he said, practically cooing at this course book. "Fooood!"

It was Ino's turn to give a skeptical look.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Why don't we just take Psych. II?" she asked. "Psychology I freakin' rocked this year."

The two blonds immediately jumped at that thought and starting to discuss what they thought Psychology II would be like. "Do you think Ibiki teaches it?" Naruto pondered, while Ino leaned in to read the course description.

Sakura turned to Sasuke, and looked at him. "What about you?" she asked, her voice growing a touch softer. "Are you going to take Psych. II with us?" she rested her head on his shoulder. Despite the sun, the cold was really starting to get to her. She should have worn a thicker coat.

"I..." Sasuke started, his words disappearing as thoughts began to enter his mind.

He really didn't know if he actually like psychology, actually. Yes, Sasuke had a good grade in the class, and yes, he found some parts interesting, but did he enjoy it enough to take Psychology II? There was a line between doing well in something and liking it, and even after several months of studying the subject, Sasuke still did not know where he stood.

But Psychology meant a lot more to him than just brains and behavior.

It meant VitaminWater and MacBooks and the library and dusty volumes of encyclopedias all about the cerebellum and the neural networks and what sensation and perception _really_ were.

It meant late night projects, and partner work, and those damned numbered index cards that started everything.

It meant the lecture hall, and Ibiki, and those silly projects, and the silly essay about emotions.

It meant Sakura.

He looked down at her. Sakura was still propped up against his shoulder, and he could see tendrils of carnation peeking out from beneath the brim of her black beret, ringlets of confetti pink that she hadn't bothered straightening that morning.

Sasuke had learned a lot more then just "the study of mental processes and behavior". Indirectly, he had learned how to cooperate, how to nurture, and how to love.

Sasuke looked at this companion again. She was fragile, adorable, and the one person who made him feel alive.

"Sasuke?"

Sakura's soft, breathy voice brought him out of his reverie. "Mm?"

"Are you taking Psych. II then?"

Sasuke looked into Sakura's vibrant green eyes. "Yeah, I am," he answered, and a rare smile passed over his lips.

_For her._

* * *

"We should go see a movie on campus," Naruto suggested after they had signed up for their electives.

All four of them had decided to take Psychology II, but in addition to it, they had each decided to take up their own personal elective. Naruto signed up for his culinary arts class, while Sakura chose to begin a creative writing course. Ino, on a last minute whim, decided to take modern dance instead of ballroom, and Sasuke's elective was business management. (But it was Sasuke, so that counted as an elective to him.)

And even though Ino whined about popcorn being too greasy ("It''ll go straight to my thighs, augh."), and Sakura whined about popcorn being too expensive ("Ten dollars for a medium popcorn. WHAT."), and Sasuke hn'd in annoyance at the price of movie tickets ("...what happened to movies being cheaper on campus?" condensed into an irritated grunt), they went anyway to see a freakish scary movie which consisted of a serial killer who favored the chainsaw too much.

They pooled their money, got a giant bin of popcorn and a monster sized Diet Coke and passed both down their row of four like true best friends. Naruto screamed like a little girl whenever someone's head got cut off, and Sasuke muttered things about how the blood looked like watery ketchup. Sakura and Ino held each other and buried their faces into their arms.

At the end of the movie, Sasuke and Naruto proved themselves to be true men and finished off the rest of their food in three minutes flat. Sasuke chugged the gigantic soda, while Naruto practically emptied the popcorn bucket into his mouth and vacuumed up every kernel in the pail.

And then, laughing together, they exited the theater with sore throats, full stomachs, and warm hearts.

* * *

The next day, Sunday, was equally as relaxing as the previous day.

Everyone on campus, even the administrators, seemed to sleep in, and then wake up lazily, treating themselves to waffles or pancakes for breakfast, and drinking cappuccinos before starting a peaceful Sunday.

Over the breakfast table, the group of four made plans.

"Rock Lee is having a birthday party," Ino suggested. "We could go there tonight." She rip a slice of toast into pieces, shredding the carb with manicured, French tipped nails.

Sasuke barely concealed his grimace, while Sakura cringed in the open. Lee was nice, but he was very..._forward_ about how "the young Sakura burned with beauty and cheer". "I'd feel bad about crashing Lee's party," Sakura told Ino. "And we should probably study for finals," she pointed out.

"Yeah," Naruto agreed, "But you know how the last study session we tried turned out. We have ALL WEEK to study, so go have some fun." He spooned some Captain Crunch into his mouth and chewed noisily.

Sakura twisted the cap off of her VitaminWater – Formula 50 – and shrugged. "It's really up to you. I think I might spend my night studying though...y'know, for the exam in chemistry that I have _tomorrow_." She rolled her eyes and took a sip of her drink. "Honestly Naruto, I don't know how you managed to get decent grades when you don't even study."

After some bickering, it was decided that Ino and Naruto, being the ever consistent party animals, would attend Lee's party, delivering regards from the other two. Sasuke would help Sakura study for her chem. exam, and then take her out to get ice cream (although he insisted it was too cold, but Sakura's pouting face convinced him otherwise.).

Until the night though, the four decided to spend time together, walking across campus, visiting the campus shop (Sakura wanted sweatpants), and pausing to visit Hinata, Shino, and Kiba, whom they met in the grassy common area.

Sakura smiled the entire time, and, for some reason, felt extremely grateful for having time to spend with her three best friends.

* * *

Eventually, however, nighttime came, and they parted ways. Ino put on her party heels and Naruto changed into a button down shirt (obnoxiously striped orange), and after wrapping up a pair of leg warmers for Lee, the two went on their way to the party, held at Tenten-the-ice-cream-girl's house.

Ten minutes into their study session, it had become quite obvious to Sasuke that Sakura knew the chemistry textbook and her notes as if she had swallowed them whole, and she clearly did not need help studying. So, after reviewing some vocabulary, they decided to treat themselves to a walk around campus.

"Sasuke, you didn't really need to take Psych. II y'know," Sakura said to him, lacing their fingers together as they started down the brick pathway that linked the campus together. "I mean...I know you hate it." She blew some hair out of her face and looked up at him knowingly. "Seriously."

Sasuke shrugged. "It's not that bad." Sakura took a moment to take in how the moonlight (and the orangey street lights) seemed to make his black hair shimmer blue. Then she gave him a look of disbelief. "Please. I saw you either text, fall asleep, or attempt to give Ibiki the finger at least _once_ every class."

Sasuke did not object to this.

"And," Sakura continued, "we all know that the subject matter bores you. Why did you even sign up for it if you hate the teacher and the content?" she stopped, and decided to sit on a bench near the dining hall.

Sasuke sat himself close to her. "It's not that bad," he repeated.

"Lies."

"It really isn't."

"Liessss."

"..."

"...seriously, tell me why you decided to sign yourself up for another semester of Uchiha Sasuke's personal hell."

"For you."

Sakura's eyes widened a considerable amount. "Uh...pardon?" she asked. She took a moment to shift positions, bringing her legs onto the bench with her and crossing them Indian-style. "You can't be serious."

Sasuke looked into her eyes. "I'm quite serious," he told flatly. "You don't believe me?"

"No, no, I believe you," Sakura told him, "I'm just surprised that that's why you decided to do it. I mean, I thought maybe it'd be because you need the class for your psycho business management major or something." She leaned into him, smiling against his shoulder. "I'm quite touched," she informed him.

"I'm glad, but I hope you know there's no such thing as 'psycho business management'," Sasuke said, a hint of a smirk edging his voice. "I'm majoring in business and economics."

Sakura made a face at him. "I know that," she replied. "What kind of girlfriend-slash-best-friend would I be if I didn't?"

"A horrible one," Sasuke responded dryly. "On the contrary, I must be a wonderful boyfriend-slash-best-friend for choosing to take a class I absolutely despise to be with you." A ghost of a smile – a _real_ smile – started to appear on his face as he looked at Sakura.

"Nope, you're absolutely awful," Sakura said cheerfully. "Only poopheads sacrifice happiness to be with their girlfriends."

And then she tilted her head upwards and started to kiss him.

* * *

Giggling slightly, Sakura led Sasuke into her dormitory building. She knew she must have sounded like a silly little girl, but Sasuke was so refreshing to her. It wasn't because he was absolutely adorable (Ino thought he was the best piece of eye-candy on campus) or because he had a warm presence, but his personality was endearing to Sakura, once you got him to talk, and, as cliché as it sounded, Sasuke was just like a breath of fresh air.

She honestly loved just _being_ with him.

They stepped into the elevator and Sakura pressed the button with the large 4 printed on it. After a few moments, the elevator began making it's creaky ascend upwards.

"You think we'd learn to take the stairs by now," Sakura commented to Sasuke while the lift crawled towards the fourth floor.

Sasuke nodded slightly in agreement. "This thing is so slow."

"And once you think about it, the chances of the cables snapping on the stairs are a lot slimmer than the ones on the ele – !"

Sakura was cut off by an irritating "Ding!" from the elevator. She stepped out into the common area of the floor, Sasuke in tow. "And y'know, in case of fire, always take the..."

She stopped.

She stopped talking, she stopped moving, and hell, she probably even stopped breathing for a while there.

A woman sitting on one of the couches in the common area stood up abruptly. She pushed dark red hair out of her face with quick, nervous swipes, and her eyes, shockingly light blue, even paler than Ino's, widened. She licked her lips and swallowed hard, then seemed to hesitate for a second. "Um...Sakura?"

Sakura backed up slowly until she ran into Sasuke, who held her steadily by the shoulders. She squinted a little, and then bit her lower lip as pieces finally came together in her head. She gasped softly, and one, single word fell from her lips in shock.

"Ma...ma?"

* * *

Thank illusioned/Ailey/MY WONDERMOUSE for this update. Without her persistent asking, I probably would not have written this until Christmas time, hahaha.

(Also, I have some new oneshots up, if anyone's interested.)

Review. (:


	15. 14: Revive

**Vitamin**Water Fact Number 15: The VitaminWater craze has gone down, but _I_ still love it. Don't be fooled.

* * *

_Like __**Vitamin**__Water_  
x. by ANGELforSHOW

**Chapter Fourteen**: Revive.  
**Purpose**: Recovery.

* * *

-

"Mama…?" Sakura repeated again, swallowing hard. She reached behind her back and found Sasuke's hand, gripping it tightly. "What are you _doing_ here?" she asked, eyes narrowing.

Haruno Kaori's face quickly melted from being sweet and indecisive to hard and angry. "That's no way to speak to your mother," she said, lips thinning. "Especially when your mother has traveled all this way to offer her ungrateful daughter possibly the _best_ opportunity in the world."

Stubbornly, Sakura folded her arms across her chest. "Sorry," she started sarcastically, "I don't consider the woman who walked out on me and my father _when I was seven years old_ my mother." She flipped her hair cheekily. "Now if you excuse me, I want to go back to my dorm. I have a final to study for."

Kaori sighed. "Wait!" she called out to Sakura's retreating back. "Just hear me out!" Her face crumpled a tad, signifying defeat. "_Please_."

Sakura frowned. Even though she would never admit it out loud, she _was_ curious as to why her mother had decided to show up after eleven years, and on a cold, Sunday night to boot. Her eyes softened just the slightest bit. "Thirty seconds," she allowed her with a small nod.

"I saw your father," Kaori started. "I got divorce papers signed, and we both agreed that it would be best for me to try and patch up things between you and I again," she continued, barely taking a breath, wary of her time limit, "I live in Wind Country now – Suna – and I want you to come with me and get _out_ of this shithole."

The breath she was taking hitched in her throat. "_What?_" Sakura gasped out. "How could you – I don't even – why would you…I…dad – _how on earth do you have the nerve to show up here and ASK me that_?!" she ran a frantic hand through her hair, finger-combing pastel bangs in agitation. "You can't expect to go with you, I refuse!" She shook her head.

Sakura's mother rolled her eyes. "Be rational, Sakura. You want to be a doctor still? Well, getting out of here and going to Suna will help fuel that dream a lot better than just staying here in Konoha. The opportunity is something you _can't_ just pass up."

It hurt Sakura to know that her mother had a point.

"You're slumming here, sweetie," Kaori's eyes flicked to Sasuke's face for a brief moment (Sasuke, in return, gave her a glare of his own), "and I know how smart you really are. You're barely in university yet, so you'll be able to transfer with practically no complications. With a brain like yours you'll be able to get into University of Suna in three seconds flat."

Sakura stopped shaking her head. "I…can't make a decision like that right now at _all_, mother," she hissed out through gritted teeth. "You've showed up at the worst possible time."

Kaori pursed her lips. "You're foolish just like your father," she said airily. "Sakura, you've never been away from Konoha for an extended period of time. You have _no idea_ what kind of freedom there is out there," her eyes lit up. "It's amazing getting away from this place."

Sakura scowled. "Yeah, I'm sure "getting away from this place" was definitely worth leaving behind your husband and daughter, your _family_."

Kaori's eyes showed the briefest hint of irritation, but she waved off her daughter's scathing comment with ease. "Just think about it. I'll be staying in town for the week. Come see me with your answer on Saturday at noon after you finish your exams." She reached a hand into her purse and pulled out a pen and a scrap of paper. She scribbled down her address in light, elegant handwriting and handed the paper to her daughter.

Sakura took the paper, shoving it into the deepest corner of her coat pocket, not intending to ever look at it again. "Fine," she answered frostily. She walked away slowly.

"Fine."

* * *

"Are you going to go?"

Sasuke rarely took the initiative to ask questions so straight-forwardly, and his question temporarily caught Sakura off-guard. He stopped stroking her hair – a rare, sweet gesture reserved only for when the two of them were alone – and looked down at her expectantly.

Sakura, who had thrown herself onto her tiny, creaky bed as soon as she had fumbled the key into the keyhole and maneuvered the door open, shifted her face so and peeked out at Sasuke with one green eye, bloodshot from crying.

"I – I…" she faltered and closed her eyes. Sasuke could see remnants of mascara and eyeliner smudged on her eyelid. "I don't know," she finally whispered. "But for my _career_ and my _future_ going to Suna is something I just can't pass up." She made a noise of frustration and buried her head in her arms once more.

Sasuke frowned ever so slightly. When it came to matters like her future, even he couldn't stop her or sway her opinion. But her mother had chose correctly when she used the future-card on her daughter – their university was decent, but going to a world-renown university would be a major career boost.

As irritated as this situation made him (he really did want to find Haruno Kaori and give her a piece of his mind. In very little words, that is.), Sasuke resumed calming Sakura down and leaned over to give her a soft kiss to her temple. Then, he got up and opened the door the Sakura's small, drink-packed fridge. Rummaging through it, Sasuke went through all the colors of labels until he found the right flavor.

"Here."

Gently, he touched the inside of her wrist, exposed from the nest her arms made, and placed the bottle in her gently curled hand.

Sakura knew by the size and shape of the bottle that it was a VitaminWater, but she still couldn't tell what flavor it was. Intrigued, she slowly propped herself up on her elbows and looked at the bottle. She recognized the purple label and the deep red-violet liquid inside of it.

In spite of her bad mood and unfortunate dilemma, Sakura smiled.

It was Revive, for recovery.

* * *

"So the bitch just came back and told you to move to _Suna_ with her?" Ino asked incredulously, dropping her spoon into her yogurt cup. "What the hell, that's so messed up!" she sipped at her pulpy orange juice and then slammed the glass onto the table. "Augh!"

Sakura nodded and sighed, half-heartedly stabbing the waffle on her plate. "It's so depressing," she replied with a humor-less laugh. She dragged the a small chunk of her waffle through a pool of syrup, but didn't eat it. "And I have an _exam_ today. She chose the worst day to show up, seriously. THANK YOU, MOTHER."

"Sakura, you aren't actually leaving though, are you?" Naruto asked through a mouth filled with so much Captain Crunch that his cheeks puffed out. He swallowed hard and spooned some milk into his mouth. "I mean…you can't go." He looked at her with piercing cerulean eyes, eyes that left no room for questions.

"I don't know, Naruto," Sakura finally mumbled out. "I love being here with you guys, but I…I have to remember that I have a future to worry about that might not involve all of you," she dropped her fork so it _clink!_ed against her plate and brought her knees to her chest, resting her forehead against them. "I don't know what to do anymore," she whispered softly.

Ino crossed her arms and shot Sakura a pointed look, despite the fact that Sakura couldn't see it. "Sakura, this is more about just your future," she told her, "it's about your happiness and your lifestyle too. What would your dad think if you left to go with your cheater-mom?" Her glossy lips twisted into a frown. "I don't he'd appreciate that after single-handedly raising you for ten years."

Sakura let out a strangled sound. "Ino, this is about more than who I eat breakfast with everyday, or who I party with – my whole _life_ could change from this! I can't just let past prejudices against my mother cloud my judgment."

Ino sighed and gave Sakura a look with steely blue eyes, but didn't say anything further.

"What do you guys think I should do?" Sakura asked at last, breaking the heavy silence that had blanketed the table.

Sasuke pulled Sakura tray onto his own, piling his dishes on top of hers. "I think you should go take your chem. final," he said to her, pushing his VitaminWater towards her before getting up to throw away their trash and put away their dirty dishes. "And then you can worry about this."

Naruto nodded in agreement. "Yeah, good luck," he said to Sakura without a trace of amusement in his voice.

Somehow, Sakura didn't think he meant on the chemistry exam though.

* * *

Sasuke greeted her with a quick peck on the cheek when Sakura re-emerged from her chemistry lab. "How was the test?" Sasuke asked Sakura as he picked her up after her exam was finished.

Sakura took a deep breath and blinked tiredly a few times. "It was fine. I think I did alright on it," she answered quietly. She stopped abruptly to haul her bag over her shoulder again. He waited for her to adjust her bag before linking their hands together. Sakura noted this – Sasuke never held hands with her in or kissed her (even if it was only on the cheek) in public before.

He was afraid that she would actually leave.

It was less cold today, although the weather was still brisk, and the sun was shining happily. Sakura had to squint when she got outside until her eyes adjusted to the brightness.

"Hm, what other exams do you have this week?" Sasuke inquired while they strolled towards Sasuke's dormitory building. They were meeting up in Naruto's dorm and then going off-campus to grab lunch.

"Um, Calc tomorrow morning and Brit. Lit. tomorrow afternoon," she rattled off, looking up at the clouds while she thought, "and of course we all have our Psych. final on Wednesday together."

"Mm," Sasuke hummed in response, nodding slightly. "Okay."

They got to Naruto's after a couple more minutes of comfortably quiet walking, and Naruto waxed poetic about the "Awesome pizzeria with hot waitresses and amazing food!" and convinced his friends to make the pizzeria the location for their lunch outing today.

They walked off campus and Ino talked about how she saw Kiba _totally_ trying to feel that mean Karin girl up during biology, and Naruto laughed in response because "Karin used to have these weird delusions that she and Sasuke-bastard were _dating_ in high school!".

The pizzeria was a warm little restaurant with a brick oven in a shady little alley that branched off the main road. Unfortunately for Naruto, their server was male with strange aqua hair and sharp teeth. Not exactly datable to Naruto.

"Um, we'll have two large pizzas, one with pepperoni," Naruto started, skimming the menu.

"Mmm, with extra cheese, please!" Sakura chirped.

"…tomatoes," muttered Sasuke.

"But only on half of one," Naruto interjected. "And on the other one can be a supreme pizza with everything,"

"But no olives, those are gross," Ino chimed in.

Sakura nodded, "No mushrooms either. Fungus is nasty."

"Try to make there less grease and stuff too," Ino added.

Everyone rolled their eyes.

"Four Cokes too," Naruto added.

"Make mine Diet!" Ino insisted.

"Some water to go around would be nice too," Sakura said, smiling.

Naruto "Ooh!"'d. "Don't forget the lemon slice!"

The waiter – Suigetsu – stopped scribbling frantically on his notepad and looked up with a strained smile. "Is that all?" he asked, slightly afraid of what barrage of orders was next to come.

Naruto grinned brightly and nodded. "Yeah!" he answered. "For now, anyway."

Oh, goodie, Suigetsu thought. He could hardly wait. "I'll be back with your drinks," he told the four, before walking away and weaving through other servers and customers.

--

"Oh, so did you know that Tenten-the-ice-cream-girl is dating the Hyuuga dude?" Ino asked her table excitedly. "I found that out today when I was walking past the library and I saw the two of them sucking each others' tonsils out!" she reported to her friends dutifully.

Sakura chewed on her pizza and tugged on her slice to try and cut off a gooey strand of cheese that trailed from her mouth to her plate. "Seriously?" she asked. "Isn't the Hyuuga dude Hinata's cousin?"

"His name is Neji," Sasuke told the two, bored.

"We've known him since waaaay back," Naruto supplied the two girls. "He's pretty cool, if not kind of girly. I mean, have you _seen_ his hair?" he asked incredulously. "It's shinier and more perfect than Ino's!"

Ino, who was taking a sip from her Diet Coke, glared at the other blond. "Hey, I resent that!" she told him angrily. "My hair is _SO_ much better than Hyuuga Neji's."

Sakura laughed and took a long sip of her drink. "Ino, seriously. You've _seen_ Neji's hair. It's flawless."

"Yeah, but he has _split-ends_," Ino argues, wrinkling her nose.

"Yeah, but so do you," Naruto pointed out with an impish smirk.

Ino, turned to face Naruto. "Look, ya wanna _go_, bitch?" she asked him, flinging her arms out like a gangsta.

Sakura laughed again, and finally, finally. finally, thoughts about her mother and Suna and her future started to fade and slip away from her mind.

* * *

The rest of the week passed smoothly. Sakura diligently studied for her exams, and she was rewarded with the satisfaction of understanding (and hopefully answering) most of the things she had encountered on the tests.

The Calculus final was relatively easy and straight-forward, although the British Literature exam was the hardest. Sakura never did enjoy that class anyhow.

The Psychology exam was by far the most satisfying though.

It seemed odd, but knowing nearly _all_ the questions on the Psychology exam made Sakura prouder than a potential full score on her Calculus exam could have. Ibiki was a hard teacher who created even harder assessments, and being able to recall all the small details of the subject really made Sakura feel good.

Psychology had ended up being her favorite class, and it meant the most to her. More than just learning happened within the lecture hall, and the class had set the basis for her university life. She met her best friends, found an interesting subject, and even emerged with a boyfriend.

At the end of the hour, Sakura turned in her Psychology exam with no regrets and a huge smile blooming on her face.

"Good job in this class, Haruno," Ibiki told her, accepting her test.

Sakura's grin stretched even wider. "Thank you, sir," she answered, cheeks flushing.

* * *

But as soon as she woke up on Saturday morning, a forgotten burden embedded itself in Sakura's heart.

"What's wrong?" Sasuke asked her as she sat down at the table. Naruto and Ino were chattering between themselves, but stopped when they saw Sakura approach them.

Sakura was pale, trembling slightly, and looked like she was on the verge of either vomiting or bursting into tears.

Ino and Naruto peered at her with concern etched into their faces.

"Guys…" Sakura started, licking her dry lips and frowning. A faint look of horror registered itself in her wide, frantic, green eyes. "I'm supposed to meet my mom today and give her my answer."

Everyone's breaths hitched in their throats, and the table was dead silent.

* * *

Dude, guys, Like VitaminWater is seriously almost done. Next chapter will be the last. Holy shit.

Review. (:


	16. 15: XXX

**Vitamin**Water Fact Number 16: Dude guys…there's more to life than VitaminWater. (:

* * *

_Like __**Vitamin**__Water_  
x. by ANGELforSHOW

**Chapter Fifteen**: XXX.  
**Purpose**: Triple Antioxidants.

* * *

-

"You're not goin', right, Sakura?" Naruto immediately asked. "You don't even need t' meet your madre 'cause you aren't leaving, right?" He threw his fork down onto his tray and crossed his arms, halfway to a tantrum.

Sakura let out the breath that was still caught in her throat. "That's the thing, guys," she mumbled. She picked at the label on her VitaminWater – a XXX – with shaky fingers. "I'm not sure if I'm going to go or not."

"How could you _say_ that?" Ino demanded. She wasn't angry, but her blue eyes shone with hurt. "Sakura, you can't really be thinking of leaving, can you?" Her face was horrorstricken. "We've been together for so long…you – you can't just leave!"

Sakura bit her lip and looked down at the empty space in front of her. She pulled her fingers away when Sasuke reached for her hand. "Ino, I don't _want_ to go, but this is Suna. Suna's big, and I could get so far if I went." She blinked furiously, as if she were about to cry. "I can't just go with the easy decision if my _future_ is on the line!"

Ino's face crumpled. "I know," she admitted quietly, "and I know it's wrong of us to pressure you into staying." She absentmindedly whirled a lock of platinum blonde hair around her index finger and took a deep breath. "Sakura, I'll be behind you with whatever decision you make."

Sakura exhaled another shaky breath. "Thank you, Ino," she whispered. She unscrewed the top to her VitaminWater but didn't drink any of it.

"Your mother said to meet her at noon. You should think this over," Sasuke said to Sakura softly.

Sakura turned and looked away from her friends and their table and the remnants of breakfast on their trays.

"I will."

* * *

Thirty minutes later, Sakura was sitting alone at the edge of the campus, on an abandoned little bench that overlooked a murky, polluted river. It was cold, the sky was cloudy, her cell phone was on silent, and there wasn't a single person around, as far as Sakura could see.

I have to make this decision, Sakura realized, taking in deep yoga-breaths.

Inhale.

Suna.

Exhale.

Konoha.

Inhale.

Mother.

Exhale.

Father.

Inha—

This _so_ isn't working, Sakura thought, irritated. She pulled her legs up onto the bench and folded them Indian-style. She stared out into the dirty river and wondered how fish could even _breathe_ in that water. She envied how the fish in the polluted water could breathe, but she who was aboveground and totally dry couldn't.

How was she supposed to make such a big choice? Sakura cursed in her mind, shoving her hands into her pockets, and frowning at the grey sky. She was eighteen and barely an adult for Christ's sake. She wasn't supposed to be making a life or death decision like this yet. So how did other people manage?

Her father had made the decision not to remarry, for the sake of his child.

Sai had made the choice to stomp all over her heart.

Sasuke had found something inside of him that made him confess, break loose, and take a chance with Sakura.

Her own mother had made the choice to leave her family, and then worked up the nerve to come back and ask Sakura to do something very similar to what she had done many years ago.

A pros and cons list wouldn't help her in this situation, and neither would a Venn diagram or a spider web or any sort of analytical chart. She couldn't be wishy-washy and say she wanted both. She had to make a clear-cut decision, and she had to go with whatever choice she made with no regrets.

A shrill ring came from Sakura's coat pocket. It was her phone alarm. It was 11:40. Sakura sucked in a deep breath and stood up.

It was time to go.

* * *

The walk to Sakura's mother's hotel building was fairly short, but it frazzled Sakura's nerves to no end.

"It'll be okay," Naruto said brightly, smiling at Sakura as he and Ino trailed behind Sakura and Sasuke. "You'll go far wherever you are, Sakura." He was serious for a rare moment. "You're too smart to fail med school."

Sakura felt as if she would burst out in tears at any given moment. "Thank you, Naruto," she whispered, giving him the best smile she could manage. "Seriously."

The rest of the walk was traveled in silence.

--

The hotel Sakura's mother was staying at was impossibly luxurious, definitely rated five stars, and evidence of a much better life in Suna. Kaori herself was wearing obviously expensive clothing and had a huge engagement ring on her finger. If Sakura had any ounce of compassion for her mother, she would've asked who the (un)lucky man was. But she didn't. Oh well.

"It's nice to know you at least showed up," Kaori said to her daughter. She cast a look at the rest of the group. "Did you have to bring an audience too, though?" She looked through beautiful light blue eyes at Ino. "I remember you," she said, a slight smile emerging on her face. "You were the little blonde girl. Ino, right?"

Ino nodded, but did not return the smile. "It's nice to see you again," she replied in a way that no one was able to tell whether the remark was sincere or sarcastic. "It looks like you're doing well."

Kaori's sweet smile slipped away dramatically, and was replaced with a slight quirk of her lips, a smile that no one could interpret. "Well, we're eating lunch then. I anticipated Sakura would bring some friends with her." She looked at Sakura pointedly. "She never did like to do things alone."

"Shut up, mother," Sakura said to Kaori shortly, not bothering to hide her contempt.

Kaori rolled her eyes as she turned around and waved to the group with a beckoning hand. "Still no manners I see. Come along."

Kaori led them into the hotel restaurant and into the back of the restaurant to a private room. Hors d'oeuvres were waiting on the table already. "Help yourself," she offered airily, sitting down at the round table and patting the seat next to her. "Sit here, dear," she said to Sakura. "I want to hear _all_ about your life."

Sakura draped her coat mechanically over the back of the chair and sat down with a scowl.

Kaori sighed and rolled her eyes, casually taking a sip of wine from her glass. "I assure you, Sakura, my intentions are purely good. I just want the best for my daughter." She flipped shiny red hair over her shoulder and sighed. "My generosity is wasted upon you."

Sakura perked up a bit. "Oh, so you don't want me to go with you after all? Why didn—"

"Don't be ridiculous!" Kaori cut her daughter off. "Just because you're an ungrateful brat doesn't mean I withdraw my offer. What kind of mother would I be then? Does a parent stop forcing their child to eat vegetables because they put up a bit of a fight?"

Sakura looked at her mother with large, innocent green eyes. "Oh, right, but how would you know? You weren't really around when I started putting up a fight about eating my vegetables."

Kaori's patience was gradually beginning to slip away. "Honestly, Sakura, I'm trying to reconcile with you and all you seem to be doing is saying petty little comments and ignoring all of my efforts. How could I have ever given birth to someone so _unappreciative_?" she swirled her wine and practically shoved a tiny cracker sandwich down her throat.

Sakura settled for throwing her mother a particularly dirty look before helping herself to some bruschetta, angrily chewing the seasoned, diced tomatoes before downing the bread in several bites.

A dead, awkward silence hung in the air for a few moments. Ino cleared her throat and checked the time on her phone – 12:17 – before taking a sip of tea. "I think we should just get to the point here, if you all don't mind me being so bold." Ino's piercingly light eyes bore a hole into Kaori's forehead. "We all know why we're here. Why beat around the bush any longer?"

To everyone's displeasure, a genuinely pretty smile lit up on Kaori's face. "You always were impatient, Ino. But I have soup and salad, five filet mignons, and a platter of assorted desserts in the kitchen and on it's way. We'll eat and then Sakura can decide."

Sakura had the sudden urge to projectile vomit onto her mother's Burberry scarf, casually sticking out from the matching designer handbag.

But that'd be rather rude (not that she cared), and Sakura hated throwing up as much as the next person, so, she grudgingly refrained.

Sigh.

--

After the soup and salad course was finished, Sakura had learned that her mother was off living her dream as the editor-in-chief of _Akatsuki en Mode_, wildly successful fashion magazine, second to the famed fashion icon and former model, President Konan herself.

While sawing through the filet mignon (which, Sakura admitted, tasted fabulous and cut like butter), Sakura learned that her mother was fabulously wealthy and willing to pay for every cent of her education, even medical school, rather than have Sakura take out student loans like she had been doing at Konoha.

This had discouraged Naruto, Sasuke, and Ino a bit, making the last choke a bit on her roasted potatoes in shock.

By the time the dessert platter (which was absolute heaven) and afternoon coffee had come, Sakura was, in all honesty, leaning towards going to Suna. It really was a fabulous deal her mother was trying to force her to accept. The only things _truly_ standing in the way were the three faces she loved the most, the three that were slowly slouching in their seats in defeat while dejectedly eating chocolate éclairs and miniature squares of tiramisu.

* * *

Kaori leaned back in her chair, and sighed with content as she polished off the last of her coffee and the final bite of her tiny, blueberry Danish. "Well Sakura, it's time," she said pleasantly. "I know you've have to have thought of this before, so lay it on us. What are you going to do?" she smiled and focused her pale blue eyes on her daughter.

"Um, right, but first, mother, tell me," Sakura said, "who're you engaged to?" Sakura stared at the large, ostentatious diamond on her mother's left hand. The diamond was cut gorgeously, and it was flanked on either side with vivid, bright aquamarines, set into a white gold band.

Kaori giggled like a school girl. "You'll love him, sweetie, he's just the most darling man in the _world_!" She composed herself once more, but there was still a giddy shimmer in her eyes. "You must have heard of him – Nagato Pein."

Sakura sputtered. "Nagato Pein like the CEO of Akatsuki & Co.?" she gaped at her mother for a second. "Didn't he just divorce Konan though? Isn't she your _boss_?"

Kaori laughed again. "Well naturally he divorced her once he realize he was in love with _me_. And as for her being my boss, well, not for loooong," she sang, losing her mature composure for once and smirking wolfishly.

The table was silent.

"Well, come on now, Sakura, we need an answer," Kaori said, smoothing some wrinkles out of her skirt. "I don't have all day." She smiled though, as if she was confident she already knew Sakura's answer to her proposition.

Ino's face fell a bit, but her gaze stayed on Sakura's confused face, unwavering. Naruto was unnaturally solemn, while Sasuke looked even angrier than he had been when they had arrived at the hotel.

Sakura swallowed hard. "I…" she faltered, shoulders drooping. "Um, I think…" Her face was overcome with overwhelming emotion and her eyes started to water. "I—"

"Sakura you _can't_ go!" Ino burst out, slamming her fist down on the table. She gasped when she realized that the outburst had come from her, and her hands flew up to cover her mouth, but she drew them back down. "I know I told you that I'd support you with whatever decision, but you can't go with this _bitch_!" she spat out, pointing an accusing finger at Kaori.

Kaori's finely plucked eyebrows lifted slightly. Strong words.

Naruto slammed his fists down on the table as well, unable to keep silent after Ino's outburst. "YEAH, you _can't_ go!" he told her angrily. "You can't say that you wanna go with some lady who _abandoned_ you when you were little and just _came back_ a couple days ago. You don't even know her anymore!"

"I'm her mother, she doesn't _have_ to know me," Kaori interjected with a scowl.

The words hanging in Sakura's throat seemed to die after she heard her friends. She turned to the person whose opinion may have mattered the most to her at that moment. "Sasuke?" she asked gently, searching his face for any trace of emotion other than anger.

He caught her gaze, coal black eyes firmly locking in on her spring green ones. "We… _I_ don't want you to go," he said. His voice was as quiet and monotonous as always, but there was anger and a hint of distress lingering beneath the cool front.

"Give me a reason."

A touch of confusion passed over Sasuke's face. "What?"

"Give me a reason to stay," Sakura said shakily.

He didn't know what to say. _Of course_ he wanted Sakura to stay. But he wasn't stupid – he knew how much of a difference in her future this one decision would make. He knew how important reconciliation was with one's family – something he never got a chance to do. He knew that this wasn't the time to be selfish. He didn't _want_ to be selfish. But… he was anyway.

Sasuke gripped the fabric of the tablecloth, clenching his fist tightly. "This is the opportunity of a lifetime," he said to Sakura, voice still soft and calm, "You'd get a free education. You're getting a chance to go to one of the best school in the world. You're getting a chance to reconcile with your mother. You can start over." He sighed quietly. "You'd probably lead a better life there," he admitted.

Ino and Naruto blanched. Sasuke was _not_ helping.

Sasuke shot the two blonds a look. "And I know right now is not the time for me to be selfish," he said. "But I am going to be selfish anyway." He took deep breath. "I don't want you to go. And the reason why is… because I think I might be in love with you," he said gripping the tablecloth even tighter than before. "I love you," he repeated, "and if you go, I don't know what I'll do."

Sakura's eyes widened and she swallowed hard once more. "Sasuke, I…" she turned to Kaori. "I'm not going with you," she said to her mother. Her voice grew louder and more confident as she repeated herself. "I'm not going with you. I don't want to go with you. I don't want you to come back and ruin my life again. I'm done with you." Sakura stood up and grabbed her coat and bag. "Goodbye, _mother_," she said sarcastically, walking away from the table. Ino, Naruto, and Sasuke were quick to follow.

The room was vacated in four seconds flat, save an incredibly surprised woman.

* * *

"Guys, I'm hungry."

Sakura laughed and felt better at that moment than she had for days. "Figures, Naruto. My bitch of a mother treats you to a gourmet lunch and you're _still_ hungry." She leaned into Sasuke's arm and smiled fondly at their interlaced hands.

"Let's just stop at the supermarket for something for him to eat so we don't hear him whining the entire way home," Ino suggested, pointing down the block at the welcoming supermarket. "I think I need more coffee beans too."

Naruto led the way into the supermarket, practically dancing towards the deli. "I want fried chicken!"

Ino disappeared to find her coffee beans, leaving Sasuke and Sakura to themselves.

Their feet seemed to automatically direct them towards the beverage aisle, and Sakura laughed when she saw the rows and rows and colorful labels staring back at them. And then—

"Oh my _God_, what _is_ this?" Sakura inquired Sasuke with genuine disbelief. She held up two bottles for him to see. "'Sync'? 'Tranquillo'?" she read off the labels in disbelief. "Do I even want to try these?" she asked Sasuke.

Sasuke shook his head. "I know I don't. First fifteen flavors only, thanks," he said, waving away the two new flavors of VitaminWater.

Sakura laughed and put the two bottles back onto the shelf. "Maybe another day," she said, "but right now I'm sort of a on a Diet Coke fix, to be totally honest." She smiled at Sasuke and continued walking down the aisle. "C'mon, let's go find fatty Naruto."

"He's probably already eating," Sasuke said to her, rolling his eyes.

"All the more reason to find him," Sakura told him seriously. "Friends don't let friends eat whole, deep-fried chickens." She blinked her large, green eyes at him, as if reprimanding him.

Sasuke held back a snort of laughter and took her hand. "You just want to steal a chicken leg," he said, leading her down the aisle. "Come on."

Sakura beamed. "Right you are! You know me too well. That's why I love you."

Sasuke did a double take. She had said it. She might have thrown the three words in there casually, but she had said it. He stopped walking.

"What?" Sakura asked. "Do you feel okay?"

Then she noticed the look on his face. "Oh," Sakura laughed. "I mean it, you know," she laughed a bit nervously, brushing a lock of hair out of her face. "Really, I do." Her face began to flush. Was he _trying_ to make her feel stupid? "I'm not sure if you were really serious at the hotel, but I figured I'd give telling the truth a shot, y'know and—"

And then he kissed her, which was all the reassurance she needed.

--

_Fin._

* * *

OKAY so it took five months to get this chapter out, but I did it! My apologies for it being so late. I could probably give you a thousand excuses, but there's nothing that can top the fact that I was just plain lazy.

I'd like to pimp a **wonderful-freakin'-tastic fanart **by _**Neitzarr**_. The link is in my profile. Thank you very much once again. (:

Thank you everyone who reviewed, everyone who's told me to get my lazy ass in gear and update, and those of you who put up with my everyday whining (you know who you are).

Special mention to _defray_ who's been with me since the very beginning.

I'm sorry I'm rambling. I'm still kind of reeling in shock that I've actually finished something. This never happens, really.

You can check my profile for updates on my latest fanfiction and life endeavors.

Thank you once again! :D


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